Night Watch
by GreyLiliy
Summary: Daniel is having nightmares. Mysterious wounds coming from no where. Rorschach doesn't like it. Not one bit. Going to save partner if it takes all night.
1. Chapter 1

I don't think there's a single watchman fan who didn't see the preview for the reboot of 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' and didn't squeal "Rorschach!" when Freddy spoke. It was way, way too easy to hear Rorschach saying the line "Why are you screaming? I haven't even cut you yet."

Which of course lead to the thought - I wonder who'd scare who? Rorschach vs Freddy.

And this thing demanded to be written. Demanded it. I just hope it decides to be short. So in the meantime you all better enjoy it. XD Thank-you for reading & reviewing.

** Night Watch**

**Part I**

"Off tonight." Rorschach rasped as they walked along the back alley of the streets. Nite Owl had taken a nasty hit from the side earlier and was now sporting what was sure to be a rather large bruise under his suit. Usually better at blocking obvious hits. Could have been worse. "Careless."

"Yeah." Nite Owl agreed. Dan sighed soon after and resisted the urge to take off his goggles and rub his eyes. Rorschach was angry, his shoulders tight and his walk brisk. Usually they walked shoulder to shoulder but tonight he was a pace ahead. Dan guessed his hands had formed fists in the pockets. Rorschach wasn't usually very forgiving when it came to taking needless hits in the field. Especially when he ends up dropping what he's doing to go help out his 'idiot' friend in the owl suit. "I'd like to say it won't happen again, but we both know I'd be lying."

Rorschach slowed slightly. There was something in Nite Owl's voice that was off as well. Sounded more like Daniel when Rorschach emptied his sugar cube jar. Sounded empty; like facing something inevitable. "Reason for tonight?"

"I think I'm just tired, Rorschach." Dan felt his shoulders drop. His costume seemed to weigh more than usual as he was walking. Dan just felt heavy all over. A few steps later and he realized Rorschach had stopped completely and was staring. "Rorschach?"

The vigilante in the striped pants felt like someone had punched him in the gut. Rorschach had very few people he could tolerate being around and even far less that he trusted. To hear Nite Owl was, _tired_¸ almost knocked him from his feet. Daniel could get discouraged and angry and petulant, but he sounded almost broken. Broken men didn't fight crime. They quit or died. Gave up. They _left. _Rorschach made sure his voice was even before he answered. "Thinking of quitting?"

Nite Owl's eyes widened behind the goggles and his mouth dropped open. After a moment his shoulders twitched and he bit his lip. Rorschach held his breath waiting for the inevitable answer before Nite Owl snorted and shoved his hand his mouth. A few seconds later the fearsome Nite Owl was leaning on a wall holding his gut and laughing hysterically. "Fail to see what's funny, _Daniel._" Rorschach nearly snarled the man's name.

"I'm sorry." Dan wheezed and his time did lift his goggles a bit to wipe at the tears in the corner of his eyes. He needed a laugh like that. "It's just, wow, you jumped to a pretty big conclusion there, didn't ya' buddy?"

Rorschach continued staring.

Dan coughed into his hand and tried to sober himself up. Rorschach apparently didn't find this as amusing as he did and he was pretty sure under that mask the man was scowling. "I didn't mean 'tired' as in 'tired of crime fighting.' I mean 'tired' as in I only got an hour of sleep last night." Nite Owl chuckled slightly as Rorschach's shoulders dropped. Dan rubbed the bottom of his nose meekly and shrugged. "Sorry to scare you."

"Wasn't scared." Rorschach huffed and walked past Nite Owl, thoroughly embarrassed. A change of topic was in order. "One hour?"

Not wanting to put his friend in a fouler mood, Nite Owl followed suit with the new subject matter. "Yeah, been having trouble sleeping for the past few days." Dan found himself continuing on when he didn't receive a response. "I mean, it's not like I get that much sleep anyway considering our night job, but I usually got at least four to five hours in. Now I'm lucky if I get one. It's just all catching up to me, I think."

"Not healthy." Rorschach muttered. Nite Owl wasn't used to the lack of sleep. "Losing focus at work will cost you."

"Don't I know it." Dan groaned and slapped his cheeks a bit to force himself to be a bit more alert. "It's not like I'm not trying."

Rorschach tilted his head. Something was still bothering him about this. Daniel had never been particularly plagued by guilt and had never been on case (that Rorschach was aware of) that would be enough to keep him up at night. Not one to beat around the bush, Rorschach simply asked. "Why can't you sleep?"

"I don't think I want to tell you." Dan ducked his head down a bit. "You'll just make fun of me." Nite Owl muttered and tried not to turn red.

Rorschach smirked as his partner turned in on himself and fidgeted. He merely prompted him with a name. His partner always caved under pressure. "Nite Owl?"

"Nightmares."

Rorschach stopped again for the second time of the night. Nite Owl seemed embarrassed but nightmares so horrible they kept one up at night were something Rorschach was familiar with quite intimately. Even now and again visions of dogs and small girls crept into his head where he couldn't escape. It was hard to picture someone who was so optimistic all the time having similar night terrors. Rorschach knew better than to tease. "Same one every time?"

Dan shouldn't have been surprised that Rorschach was strangely accepting of the topic. Had he been Laurie or the Comedian, Dan would have never heard the end of the teasing. If anyone in their group had their share of nightmares, it was probably Rorschach. "Yeah."

"Case?"

"No, actually." Dan started as he stopped on their trek down the long alley to stoop down. He pulled up the sewer cover and prepped himself for the smell. Rorschach jumped down first without hesitation and Nite Owl stalled on the ladder to pull the cover back over. "It's always the same guy though, but I swear I've never seen him before."

"Guy?" Rorschach inquired as he waited for Nite Owl to finish climbing down the steps. As used to the dingy city as he was, sometimes he hated the nights they took to foot instead of using Nite Owl's favorite ride.

"Yeah, guy with a gruff voice and wears a fedora." Nite Owl stopped when he felt Rorschach glaring at him. He immediately held his hands up defensively and took a step back. "Not you, man! Really. I swear! He's got this awful green and red striped sweater and his face is all burnt and falling off." Rorschach continued to look at him skeptically. "Okay fine, but last time I checked you didn't have a leather glove on your left hand that had knives on the end of the fingers." Dan snorted. "Or make horrible puns whenever you do something."

"And this keeps you up?" Rorschach questioned. He was fairly certain he and Nite Owl took out filth in this city every night that was scarier than some nut job with a knife and a smart mouth. For goodness sake, Nite Owl had teamed up with the Comedian before. "Find hard to believe that's scary."

"See? This is where you make fun of me." Nite Owl snorted and trudged down the path towards his basement. He just wanted a hot shower and that bottle of sleeping pills he bought this morning. "I know it sounds ridiculous out loud and we deal with weirder freaks than that on a daily basis, but in the dream it's terrifying. I don't know what it is. But," Dan paused, "It's like I'm not in control anymore. Like all my skills and experience don't mean jack. Like I'm getting played with." Dan looked up. "Were we ever in a boiler room?"

Rorschach tilted his head slightly. They of course bust up some gangs in old warehouses, but he couldn't recall a boiler room. "You're in a boiler room in the dream?"

"Not always, but I usually end up there." Nite Owl turned the corner and rubbed his shoulder. "At some point during these things I get scared enough to wake up and then it's impossible to go back to sleep because it just happens all over again and the process repeats. I think I'm going to try some sleeping pills."

Rorschach nodded thoughtfully as they finally made it to the lair and walked past Archie. Nite Owl shed his cowl, cape and goggles and started to change. Rorschach continued past him and up the stairs to wait in the kitchen. A few sugar cubes stuffed into his pocket later and Daniel walked into the kitchen with a yawn. Now in the light, it was more obvious how badly his lack of sleep was affecting the man. Bags under his eyes told stories. Though, that's not what drew Rorschach's attention. "What happened to your arm?"

Dan looked down at the bandage wrapped around his forearm and chuckled. "Cut my arm. Not sure on what, but it was bleeding when I woke up. I think in that one hour of sleep I was thrashing around and hit something. Nothing major." Dan suddenly chuckled. "That part's kinda' funny actually because I cut my arm in the dream, too."

Rorschach cleared his throat.

"I mean, funny how the mind works that way huh? I thrash in my sleep and cut my arm on a table or something and in my dream that guy with the knife cuts me in the same place." Dan poured himself a cup of coffee to help him stay awake. He still had stuff to do today.

"The guy cut you?"

"Yeah," Dan started a bit. Rorschach's interest was a bit out of place. Maybe the other man had nightmares more than he realized and finally had someone to talk with. Dan almost laughed to himself. Rorschach being open about his feelings. "He's always running around after me trying to kill me."

"Get enough of that during day." Rorschach huffed before standing up and pushing his had farther down on his head. He hesitated slightly at the door. "Get some sleep, Daniel."

"I'll try. See ya' later, Rorschach." Dan nodded as Rorschach disappeared into the night. He rubbed his hands in his hair and went to the cabinet to down a sleeping pill. Nightmare or not he was getting some sleep tonight!

* * *

Well, Dan definitely wasn't waking up, that was for sure.

Dan leapt down from a walk-way to the ground beneath it and cursed when he lost his footing slightly. Bare feet did not treaded boots make. The burnt man was still on the cat walk looking down and growling. Dan wasn't sure exactly how long he'd been running around this place in nothing but his pajama pants but he was sure it was longer than the other nights where he would have woken up by this point. Considering he was littered with bruises and his cuts had reopened from fighting off the creep in the sweater, Dan wondered if being sleep deprived wasn't the better option.

"Why ya' running? I just wanna' play." The man cackled from above. "You're lookin' more like a chicken than an owl."

Dan moved and sprint down the hall trying to rub the sweat out of his face as he ran. He had a feeling sweater-man's idea of playing was more in line with something the Comedian would be up for. And _damn_ was it hot in this place; felt like he was melting into the floor. "Go to hell!"

"Been there thank-you! Much nicer up here!"

And he cracked jokes, too.

Dan was fairly certain his subconscious was out to get him. That's what this was. He was being chased by the deranged love child of Rorschach and the Comedian he created in his head and they both wanted to kill him slowly for some reason. Dan snorted as he turned another corner. Rorschach was peeved enough that his dream stalker had a fedora, he didn't need to hear that Dan thought he was out to get him. Man was paranoid enough. "Shit!"

Dan cursed again when he ran into his stalker who had somehow transported directly in front of him. Now he was mixing Jon into the mix. Just. Peachy. This is what Dan got for hanging out with costumed heroes. Instinct kicking in from the close proximity caused Dan to lash out and hit sweater-man in the chin with the base of his palm. The crack of the man's neck snapping back was almost deafening despite the creaking and crackling of all the equipment around them. Steam smacked into his face from the side and he winced from the excess heat.

Dan followed through with a shoulder tackle as soon as he gathered his senses, knocking the man into the boiler before sprinting again. After the past hour or so being chased Dan had learned real quick sweater man could take a lot of damage and just stand back up and hit right back. Which Dan also found out – hurt quite a bit. Speaking, Dan tripped over a pipe and took a tumble to the concrete and he could feel his palms and elbows scuffing the ground. His cursing was turning into a mantra as he heard the chuckling. "Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!"

Mr. Creep dashed out from the side of a water heater and slashed towards Dan's chest; he barely skimmed the surface but it was enough to raise the skin slightly. "It'd be all over if you just let me cut you."

"Yeah, but I'd rather not lose to a freak like you even if it's not real!" Dan snarled before returning a kick to the chest. He just had to keep this up until his alarm went off. That wouldn't be so bad, right? Dan leant against a handrail and heaved heavy breaths. For something that was in his head, the exhaustion and aches were feeling pretty real. Dan wasn't sure of the last time he had dreams this intense. "So go screw yourself!"

"Aw, getting tired already?" Fedora licked his crusty lips and snickered. He tapped his clawed hand against the wall and the clinks sounded obnoxiously loud. He scraped them down creating sparks. "Why don't I remove some of that dead weight for ya?"

Dan's eyes widened when he lunged yet again (where did all that energy come from!?) and this time struck gold.

Dan howled in pain as the knives on his glove sliced through skin just beneath the ribs, enough to cause blood to rush down over his side. Wasn't any worse than getting stabbed in the back alley when he was working alone, but still hurt. Dan covered the wound with his arm and groped for something to use as a weapon. Hand curling around a loose pipe on the ground he swung. Metal connected with head and Dan stared as he realized he'd taken off part of the man's skull, brain now visible.

He was lucky he was in too much pain to vomit.

"Nice shot." A fedora was placed back onto the head, little concern for the organ now thumping slightly. The poor sap's face was contorting into disgust and turning white. "Gotta' say, its' been fun fighting with someone who knows what they're doing."

"What?" Dan was confused. The figment of his imagination had fought other people? That didn't make any sense. He just wanted to wake up already and face his normal every day crazy friends. Was that too much to ask? "Just go away!"

"I don't think so." Another lunge-

Dan woke up screaming.

Cursing he slammed his hand down on the alarm clock and sat up in bed, only to double over as his ribs burned. Looking down he was shaking as his hand slowly lifted from his side. His breathing was heavy and his hand shook harder as he stared at the blood that was coating his hand and his sheets.

* * *

Nite Owl hadn't shown up for patrol.

More concerning, Daniel hadn't even left a note. Rorschach was standing in the lair next to Archie and looking around. The room seemed untouched from when they returned the night before, even his goggles were still carelessly left on the table. Rorschach hummed to himself before traveling up the back steps to the house. Normally he'd take the front door, but he was already here. The upstairs was strangely quiet and so when he heard a slight thump Rorschach's' guard went up.

Rorschach entered the kitchen quietly and pulled out a knife from the drawer in case there was a prowler about and kept his back to the wall. He could hear the heavy breathing now and the sound of muttered cursing. It sounded like Daniel, but Rorschach didn't want to take any chances with the possibility of an intruder. The door to the bathroom was cracked open and light was streaming out. Pained, hitched noises grew louder. Rorschach peered around the door and gasped a little, almost dropped knife. "Daniel."

"Jeez!" Dan jumped and cursed when he knocked his elbow on the table. Like he needed another bruise. "Rorschach! You need to stop doing that! Scared the hell out of me!"

"Daniel." Rorschach ignored the scolding and went straight to the other man and grabbed his wrist to pull the arm back and get a better view. Daniel was sitting on the edge of his toilet seat in nothing but pajama pants and stitching up his side which was sporting four deep gashes. Three already done and the forth still lightly bleeding through the disinfecting gel. There were bloody sheets and gauze around his feet. "How?"

Dan coughed and adjusted his glasses. _I got slashed in my dream by the psycho following me around and I woke up with the wound _sounded crazy even to him. Dan bit his lip. "I don't know. It was just there when I woke up."

"Daniel." Rorschach snarled, hand still wrapped around his wrist. After his eyes finally left the torn side, he got a good look at the rest of his partner. The man was covered in bruises, his face was pale and little scratches and red splotches dotted his skin. "Truth."

Dan tried to pull his arm back. "That is the truth! I had the nightmare again and the pills kept me asleep through it for once. When I woke up I was covered in bruises and my side was ripped open. I don't know how it happened." Rorschach was still squeezing his wrist and it was hurting. "Let go."

Rorschach slowly released the man's arm as Daniel turned back to his stitching, tying up the last of the four slashes. Scenarios started to filter through his head and he turned towards the windows. "Sign of entry?"

"No, believe me I looked. No one's been in my room today or yesterday but me." Dan tried not to shake but it was unnerving. He knew what this looked like and Rorschach didn't take 'it's no big deal' for an answer. "Trust me, I looked." Dan repeated.

Rorschach remained standing at attention in the room, eyes watching the hallway browsing the droplets of blood that led a trail back to the bedroom. Daniel was still shaking and wouldn't look Rorschach in the face. Nervous. "Holding something back."

"How do you do that?" Dan laughed and bit his lip as he strung the needle through skin patching himself. The morphine was starting to wear off and the pain was coming.

"Easy to read." Rorschach sat on the edge of the tub and stared at his friend. Stalling. "Talk."

Dan stayed quiet and sewed until he tied off the last of the string, cut it off with a pair of scissors. Rorschach handed him the roll of gauze and he sighed as he started to wrap himself. "It was in the dream."

"Dream?"

"The guy in the dream, my dream, we were fighting." Dan motioned to all the bruises and pointed at a larger one on his leg. "That's where he smacked me with one of those industrial hooks on a chain." Dan swallowed and held his palms up showing the ripped skin. "Where I jumped off a catwalk and hit the ground." And finally he put a hand over the wound on his stomach. "Where he sliced me with his claws." Dan put his face in his hand. "It sounds crazy. I, maybe I was sleep walking or something and got into a fight. Hallucinating even. I'm not sure. For all I know I did it to myself. Whatever happened to me probably crossed over into the dream thanks to my subconscious."

"Daniel." Rorschach let out a small guttural noise in his confusion. These sort of symptoms didn't just pop up over night did they? Maybe something in the water possessing him. Rorschach kept that theory to himself; another government conspiracy and Daniel would shut him out. He tried for the drugs. "Possibility, pills acted badly with system? Caused the thrashing? The sleep walking?"

"Maybe." Dan rubbed his face and sighed. "Whatever it is, I'm awake now and taking care of it."

Rorschach could not deny the slight concern. If Nite Owl had just been careless out on patrol and gotten hurt, Rorschach would have hardly been sympathetic. It's a lesson learned and hopefully not repeated. This though, this wasn't Nite Owl's fault. It wasn't even Daniel's fault. He was clearly a victim of something, but what? His own mind? "Going to do anything?"

"Well, whatever happened I was asleep at the time." Dan muttered before wincing as he drug the needle through the skin again. A deep breath before continuing. He'd sewn up three gashes already, almost done with the last. He could do it. "As long as it doesn't happen again, I should be fine."

"Can't risk it." Rorschach interjected eyes glued to the wound. Daniel shouldn't bleed that much. Should only bruise thanks to his suit. Nite Owl fought, not Daniel. "Might not wake up next time. Lots of blood."

"Look," Dan stood up after tying off the last stitch and headed to the sink. "If it happens again, I'll let you know. I really doubt I'm going to sleep through anything like this." Dan pointed to the wound. "In fact, I woke up when this happened so that's a good sign."

"Don't like it."

"Yeah, me either, buddy." Dan snorted and leaned in towards the window to look at his face. There was a bruise developing on his lower cheek where he had been decked. "But for now, we'll just call it a fluke and leave it at that."

"Tell me if it happens again."

Dan noted that was an order and not a request. "Of course, you know me. "

"Take week off." Rorschach huffed and walked out of the bathroom, hands in his pockets again. He was not looking forward to a week of that disgusting place that dared call itself a city without back-up. Crime had been getting worse lately, but Nite Owl would be more of a hindrance in this condition. "No condition to fight."

"Ah, but I'm all rested this time." Dan chuckled before shrinking back under Rorschach's glare. "Right, right. Nothing but working on Archie for a full week. I got it, so no worries." Dan chuckled. "But you better get out there before the bad guys start to miss us too much."

Inked spots danced around on the fabric but Rorschach nodded before heading back down the stairs to the city below. He was feeling frustrated and Daniel was getting injuries from no where. Had to do patrol without Nite Owl. Rorschach growled and almost felt bad for anyone he ran into. With the mood he was in, it was doubtful the criminals would receive Rorschach's usual mercy.


	2. Chapter 2

And it continues. Hurrah! Poor Dan. I'm so mean to him~

**Part II**

Another morning, another bruise.

Dan looked in the mirror at the bags under his eyes, before turning his gaze to the rather large burn on the side of his neck. Mr. Sweater had shoved his neck down over a metal pipe that was so hot the leaking water came out as steam. He held it there with more force than Dan realized a man could have and a laughing statement about if it's too hot in the kitchen to get out. It had hurt so much Dan had been close to tears; his voice had choked up and trapped in his throat. Only a desperate over the shoulder throw had saved the rest of his face. Dan had to admit he was starting to be afraid to go to sleep.

He had thrown away the pills after the first night thinking that maybe they had caused the sleep walking (which was the only real explanation Dan had come up with for the wounds earlier). But the man trying to kill him was getting more vicious (and the dreams more odd – in this last one he had run into a room that had three little girls jumping rope and singing one weird little rhyme) and Dan was waking up faster each time. With a new wound each time as well and it was always something he received in the dream.

But they were minor, so when Rorschach came to check up on him after the first day, Dan faked that he was okay. A long sleeve shirt hid more than Dan realized, especially when Rorschach mostly had concern for the gashes on his stomach. And if he noticed one that slipped past the sleeve? Dan found it surprisingly easy to cover for – lest he sound crazy. Little bruises could be accounted for by shifting and turning. Hitting a night post. Telling Rorschach that his dreams were hurting him physically was insane. Sure, there were times Nite Owl thought his partner wasn't all there either but that didn't mean they had to be a matching set.

Thankfully, it was enough to keep the man from prying. Rorschach had stayed away the past two nights and was likely to not appear until the week was over. It didn't help his situation much, however, as Dan was either going completely out of his mind or there was something to this dreams hurting him for real thing. Dan fingered the wound on his neck and the red skin that was flaking off. Second degree burns were harder to talk himself out of than a bump, bruise or cut. There was nothing that hot in Dan's room and he couldn't have possibly left the room.

Dan had checked.

Before heading to sleep, Nite Owl in a brief moment of paranoia that would have made his partner proud, made sure to lock all doors and windows to his room, followed by putting small traps to be triggered in each in case of them opening. All the triggers were still in place and there was no sign that any entrances to his room had been touched at all. Dan even had flour spread out around his bed to show if he stood up at any point in the night and it was untouched. Dan had managed to give himself a second degree burn bad enough to blister without ever leaving his bed.

Nite Owl covered the wound with his hand to hide it from himself and winced at the pain. Going to a hospital would bring up too many questions, so Dan did what he could by turning on the cold water and soaking a rag. Dan would have to treat and wrap it himself. Dan yawned as he applied the chilled gauze and set himself up to get a large cup of coffee. Whatever was happening to him, it was only when he slept if that was any form of comfort. Dan was perfectly safe during the day while he was awake (well as safe as a masked hero could be). Dan could go a day or two without sleep right?

Just like pulling an overnighter or two Dan to himself chuckled nervously as he swallowed. A few days without sleep would make the dreams go away due to the dreamless state of sheer exhaustion. Maybe. Dan sipped the cup of coffee and felt the slight tingle of heat on his neck from the still aching burn. Oh he hoped that was true.

* * *

Nite Owl was in the lair, civilian clothes, working under the hood of Archie. Rorschach was quiet in his approach, taking notes on his appearance. He had left Daniel alone for a week to gather himself and heal from the wounds on his chest, but Rorschach couldn't help the concern. The masked man had forgotten what it was like to patrol the streets without a partner for an extended period of time. Too much rot festering in the city and not enough of Rorschach to go around. Needed help.

Daniel was shaking, cup of coffee sitting next to him. Coffee maker had also been moved to lair, and was brewing another batch. Rorschach took note of the wrappings around his neck; new wound. Skin was still pale save for dark circles under eyes; Rorschach could tell Daniel's eyes were blood shot. Daniel wasn't sleeping. Rorschach approached closer but nearly jumped when Nite Owl's eyes darted up to him, noticing his presence near immediately the moment he passed the threshold between the sewer and the basement. Rorschach slowly put his hands in his pockets to appear calm and in control. That was odd.

"Hey Rorschach." Dan tried to force a smile. It figured the first time he caught Rorschach before the man could sneak up on him was because of a paranoid fit due to an irrational fear of a man stalking him in his head. And Dan had thought it wasn't possible to outdo Rorschach when it came to paranoia. Dan swallowed a giggle. "How are the streets looking?"

"Dirty, as always." The rough voice came out slow and cautious as he approached his friend who was looking more and more like an abused dog meeting a new person. Rorschach stopped walking about an arms' length from Daniel. His description seemed to be more appropriate now that he was up close. Dan looked ready to spring at anything that so much as sneezed. "No sleep?"

Dan let out a short, choked laugh and ran his hands through his hair ignoring the grease that was now slopped through it. "No, no sleep. No. Uh, I think I'm two solid days in with none. Not a wink." Dan swallowed the last of the chilled coffee in his mug and willed the machine behind him to brew faster. The energy pills weren't doing their job either. Dan figured he probably had built up a tolerance. "Can't sleep."

Rorschach took his hands out of his pockets and held them at the ready. Something was very wrong with Daniel. "Can't?"

"He'll get me." Dan looked up, almost impressed that he had Rorschach on the defensive. Was he really sounding that mad? Probably. It was crazy. This whole damn thing was crazy. Dan rubbed his wrist where a prominent new wound sat just beneath the long sleeve. He'd gotten close. So damn close. "I don't wan to die."

The words sounded strange coming from Nite Owl. They sounded like a mantra, a reassurance that Daniel was trying to convince himself of something. Rorschach followed Daniel's hand to where it was rubbing and launched forward to rip it away to look at the wrapped area. Right across the artery. There were very few reasons to have a wound there. He pulled back the bandages a bit to realize the wound gaping across the wrist was clean. _Not_ from a struggle. Someone sliced through the skin here with purpose, curved inward towards the body. Looked self-inflicted. "Daniel."

"He did it." Dan muttered remembering the horrifying event a couple days ago. Those horrible claws had cut clean across his wrist and he had made some joke about being a cutter and Dan had backed into a hot pipe and the pain woke him up. The artery gushing blood was quite real and Dan almost didn't stop it. He got lucky. Dan didn't go back to sleep after that. No, Dan was going to avoid sleeping if it killed him. "Made me cut my wrist and it was bleeding everywhere, Rorschach." He couldn't see his face, but he could feel the grip on his wrist tightening. Dan knew what it looked like. "I didn't do it to myself, Rorschach."

"Daniel." His friend was going insane. This latest wound put the others into perspective. Daniel was hurting himself. Rorschach bit his lip hard enough to draw blood. _Why?_ Why would Nite Owl do these things to himself? What reason did he have to grieve? Attention? Guilt? Rorschach choked the words out. "Doesn't make sense, Daniel."

"You think I don't know that?" Voice hoarse, Dan dropped the mug and held his head in its place. "It doesn't make any sense at all! How the hell can dreams hurt you? But they do. I know it sounds crazy, but I swear to you the man in my dreams is somehow able to hurt me physically. I haven't slept. I'm scared to sleep." Dan's throat closed up with a half sob. " I'm losing my mind, Rorschach."

The nightmares again. Rorschach wondered if it was some sort of code for hurting himself, but the sleep deprivation seemed real enough if the shaking, irritation and red eyes were any indication. Was it even possible that he was telling the truth? Rorschach's grip tightened more; holding a lifeline. Nite Owl never lied before. "Sure coming from dreams, Daniel?"

"Unless I'm losing my mind and doing it to myself," Dan breathed slowly and tried to remain calm. "There's no other explanation, Rorschach. The man taunts me and asks how they feel. He _remembers_ previous dreams. These aren't normal, Rorschach." Dan looked up at the expressionless mask that made up his partner's face. "I need help."

Rorschach nodded slowly. Whatever was going on, walking away now was not an option if he ever wanted Nite Owl fighting the physical demons on the streets instead of the manifestations in his head. "What do you need?"

"I'm not sure." Dan shook his head. He was exhausted and running out of things to keep himself awake. That he had lasted as long as he had was a miracle. "I need sleep to think, but if I go to sleep he'll get me." Daniel looked up. The man only came when he was dreaming, so maybe if he got an hour or two before things got bad he could think more clearly. "I need someone to wake me up if it looks like I'm dreaming."

"You want me to watch you sleep?" Rorschach almost scoffed considering he'd _caused_ more nightmares than he'd solved. It was something he was almost proud of, actually, when it came to the criminals of the street. But Daniel looked so desperate at the moment he found himself reluctantly agreeing. Daniel owed him for this after it was over. "Alright."

"Thank, thank-you, Rorschach." Dan breathed out. "Just, make sure to wake me up if anything is out of place or if something happens, okay?" Nite Owl gripped the trench coat under his fingers and tightened his grip almost desperately. Rorschach was someone he could trust. "Promise?"

"Promise, Daniel." Rorschach pat the mans' shoulder and lifted him from the ground. They stumbled up the stairs together and Rorschach wondered what on earth he had just agreed to. He almost hoped Daniel's nightmares really were out to get him. The alternative was too terrifying to comprehend.

* * *

Dan was dreaming again, though he was unsure of how he knew that considering nothing seemed out of place. His tip off was probably because he was standing in the middle of his bedroom and Rorschach wasn't there. His partner was merciless, maladjusted and irritable, but he was nothing if not dependable. If Rorschach said he was going to stay up all night watching Dan, he meant it. Knowing it was a dream and inevitable before he ran into the monster again, Dan pressed forward out of his room.

His house was silent as he took the few steps down the stairs, glad for once he remembered to wear shoes to bed. (Rorschach had looked at him funny – Dan could tell even with the mask – but Dan had insisted.) He pulled at the collar of his night shirt when the temperature started to rise. Dan's glasses were fogging and he paused to wipe them off. When they were back on his face, Dan sighed.

His room was slowly being covered with ash falling from the ceiling and the wallpaper started to peel. Dan knew better than to believe there was a real fire in his house so he pressed onward to the kitchen and stalled when he saw the tricycle in the corner. Though, the tricycle wasn't as odd as the little girl sitting on top of it with the white dress dragging her foot around in the grey soot. It always had to be kids with this guy, didn't it?

In a way, Dan was almost glad Rorschach wasn't there with him. His partner had a thing about cases that involved children and he doubt the masked man handled these kids well. It was hard to tell what they were or how they were there, but Dan knew better than to think he could save them from this. Dan could barely save himself. Rorschach, Rorschach didn't think that way. Ballistic seemed like a good word to describe Rorschach's reaction to the kids presence with the mad man.

Sweat trickled down Nite Owl's nose as the room started to fill slightly with steam and Dan quickly changed his mind. Having Rorschach As back-up would be very welcome at the moment. A loud clatter came from the upstairs and Dan steeled himself to face whatever it was head on hoping his friend would provide support by waking him the hell up if it turned out to be the burnt man.

* * *

Rorschach was unsure if he should wake Daniel or not. He cleared his throat and continued to watch from his seat next to the bed as Daniel gripped the sheets, sweating and breathing heavily. Shifting ever so slightly and releasing small little moans. It would almost be disgusting to watch if the pained expression on his face made it obvious he was having a nightmare. However, a nightmare itself wasn't causing the problems. Sleepwalking was the most likely cause of the trouble if Rorschach wanted to play things safe. The vigilante continued to wait as Daniel started to full out turn in his sleep. When Daniel called out in pain, Rorschach was suddenly paying a lot closer attention.

He was on his feet when his friend lifted and knocked into the headboard. Rorschach couldn't help but stare as Daniel begun to thrash around like he was fighting someone. His side was turning red where the stitches were being ripped open and his wrist had little dots of blood seeping through to the surface of the white bandage. Rorschach dropped his hesitation and tried to hold Daniel down by the shoulders. He was rewarded with a fist heading towards his face and Daniel screaming his lungs out. Yelling. A dodge, arm to the chest, leg over legs in an attempt to pin him down. Was Daniel having a seizure?

Rorschach jolted when Daniel started to make a gurgling sort of choking noise and he looked down seeing _indents_ start appearing around his throat. Deep red, and most definitely forming on their own. Rorschach shook Daniel fiercely. "Wake up!" Nothing but more choking noises; gasps for air like a fish on the dock. Shifting his position Rorschach tried to wake him again, voice louder. "Daniel!" Still gasping and clawing at his own exposed throat.

Rorschach punched him in the jaw hard enough to bruise the bone and Dan awoke with a final, deep and heavy gasp. Dan felt a little bit of blood come up from down his throat and he coughed it out onto the bedspread. Staring up at the man straddling him, he tilted his head. "Ror," his voice was scratchy. "Rorschach?"

"Daniel thrashing, screaming. Thought it was a seizure. Started choking." Rorschach tried to calm his own breathing down as Daniel sat up and turned on his table lamp. Sleep walking and self-harm were suddenly out of the picture. There was no way he had imagined the hand prints around Daniel's neck. Especially now with the skin discoloring under the yellow light of the lamp. "What happened in dream?"

"He showed up again." Daniel muttered trying to recall. He had gone into another room after he heard the noise in the hallway and the rest of those strange children were jumping rope again. Daniel remembered wondering how they could all look so healthy with the room being so hot and sweat dripping down his face. They had warned him that Freddy was looking for Daniel and he closed the door. Soon after he was greeted by the man's burnt and scared face morphing out of the door. The monster had grabbed Daniel before he even had a chance to sprint. "And, he was trying to bash my head in." Rorschach thought of Daniel striking the headboard and started to count coincidences. "Then he was choking me."

"Happened in real life."

Dan froze. It was one thing to give his crazed ideas of the dreams being real weight, but it was another to be backed by a witness. "What?"

"The choking." Rorschach swallowed and felt a tad bit of rage rising. " I saw it."

"Are you saying, that what happened to me in the dream was happening out here!?" Dan knew his voice was shaking now. All the things he had pondered, theorized, and dismissed as insanity were suddenly being voiced out loud. Dan's voice lowered to a whisper in relief. "It's real?"

Rorschach pointed to the now bleeding side, blood staining his own outfit along with the sheets. His voice was fierce; angry. Someone or some_thing_ was hurting Daniel. Hurting Nite Owl. His partner. "Evidence doesn't lie."

"So, it's true. I really can't sleep without fearing for my life." Dan was bringing himself back up to hysterics as it settled in and his relief at retaining his sanity faded. "He's there every time I close my eyes and I've gotta' tell you Rorschach, it's getting harder and harder to avoid him. It's like everything's real and I'm still tired and exhausted in the dream. Heck, I'm still sore and bleeding. And he's. I don't know, I watched him rip the top of his skull off and be fine in a few moments. He's turned himself into a snake and phased through walls and is always _two damn steps ahead_. How do you fight that?"

"Don't know." Rorschach grumbled and watched Daniel's chin drop into his chest, breathing heavily. Victim. Hurting. Rorschach's voice came out as a growl. "Going to find out."

Dan wasn't sure if that was a comfort or not and fell forward slightly until the crown of his head rested on Rorschach's chest. Just a little support to hold him up before everything crumbled.


	3. Chapter 3

Hey everyone! Thanks again for reading and reviewing this! Thankfully this is still 90% Watchmen based so you really don't need to have seen the Krueger/Elm Street films to understand what's going on but just in case here's a bit of background for non Nightmare On Elm Street fans: Freddy Krueger was a child murderer (and quite possibly also a child molester though it was never confirmed) who got off on a technicality. He was then hunted down by the parents of Elm Street and burnt alive in a warehouse where he had taken all the children.

Let's all hope Rorschach never finds that out.

**Part III**

Laurie was staring at him like he was insane. Not that Dan blamed her of course. He knew how he looked. Bruised, gauzed and bags under his eyes. The only conclusion he and Rorschach had come to over the past day and a half was that the man in his dreams could only hurt him when he was asleep. Something Dan had figured out on his own but Rorschach needed to test the theory anyway by observing him and being underfoot every second of the day. As of right now, Dan hadn't slept for more than an hour in four days as he and Rorschach poured over books concerning dreams and mythology looking for anything that resembled this _thing_ that was happening.

They'd come up with a blank. There was no mention of this man in any of the books that they found and dreams becoming reality was mostly conjecture or unrelated. Dan didn't think he could stay awake much longer. And sleeping in this state with that man rounding every corner in his head was not acceptable. Not with him getting so close to beating Dan every time and Rorschach having to work harder and harder to wake him up. They needed help and there were very few places to turn.

"A man in your dreams is trying to kill you." Laurie stated plainly before picking up her cigarette and wondering if she had a drink around here. The two men seated before her seemed serious enough about their story, but this was just too out there to be real. Then again, though, she did live with a man who was blue and glowed. "And whatever happens in your dream, happens in real life?"

"Yes." Dan stated evenly with Rorschach standing behind him, frustrated and angry. It wasn't often Rorschach faced an opponent he couldn't hit in the face. "We've tested this theory." _More than once._ Dan thought to himself as he looked down at the new bite marks on his leg. This guy was a total sicko and Dan couldn't wait to get rid of him. Day dreams of beating him in the face and having the damage stick around for once was one of his few happy moments during the day. "It's crazy, but it's true. And he's pretty determined to kill me."

"I take it fighting back doesn't work?" Laurie added thoughtfully. Dan's eyes were wild and it seemed odd seeing and meeting him out of costume for this- especially with his partner still in the full get-up. Rorschach stood behind him, obviously tense and the black slabs of ink swirling and moving. She really hoped that man's madness hadn't spread over to her friend. "Or you would have handled it."

"He can heal himself. Regenerate. Whatever you call it." Dan groaned and ran his fingers through his hair. At least it was clean now; Rorschach had been listening from outside the door in case he fell over asleep in the shower. "I've beat him up so many times I've exhausted myself. And now all I can do is run and hope he doesn't catch me."

"Is it just him in the dream?" Laurie asked, hoping for more information. She put a hand on Dan's knee for comfort. Whether this was real or some side effect of madness, Laurie needed as many details as possible. Maybe she could contact Adrian and get his opinion on the subject.

"Sometimes, no, it's almost always him. I'll run into other people before the attacks happen because he always drops me off in some weird place before I end up in the boiler room. The others either turn out to be him in disguise or are just random." The man swallowed thinking thoughtfully. Dan looked up. "Like those kids."

Laurie blinked. "Kids?"

"Yeah, a few little girls dressed in white jumping roping and singing a creepy poem." Dan waved his hand. He probably shouldn't' have brought up the weird little girls in his dreams at all with Rorschach so close. "They're usually off to the side or in a room somewhere. It's like they don't belong but do in some odd way."

"What's the poem about?" Laurie pushed forward. His dream was sounding like one big Freudian nightmare. Probably symbolic in some way but Laurie wasn't quite sure she wanted to know the analysis. The last thing they needed was another masked hero going off his rocker. "Maybe they're connected, Dan. Tell me all that you can."

The stressed Nite Owl shrugged. "It's a counting rhyme…let me think, uh. One, two, Freddy's coming for you…and it keeps going with something I can't remember and ends with nine ten never sleep again. It's rather fuzzy as I was too busy looking over my shoulder for the guy in the sweater to pay attention to the nursery rhyme!"

"Think the guy's name is Freddy?" Laurie added before leaning back and crossing her arms. She still wasn't completely sure that Dan wasn't just having some serious hallucinations. Dan and Rorschach got beat up all the time on patrol. For all she knew this was an elaborate joke. But, there was something in the way Dan was shaking that made her feel he deserved the benefit of the doubt. "Maybe you have to address him by name or something."

"I guess. Not exactly ready to jump right back in there and face him." Dan looked down at himself. His ribs and wrist hadn't healed and he was sore all over. "I'm a mess, Laurie."

"I don't know what to tell you, Dan." Laurie sighed and rubbed her face. Maybe she should contact Adrian. Let him handle this psychological stuff. Laurie was more of a beat um' and leave them sort of girl anyway. "We can't exactly help you fight in your head."

"I, I know, Laurie. I'm not sure what I was thinking." Dan stood up shakily and grabbed her hand. He let go after a moment and rubbed it. Laurie was a good friend. Rorschach grunted behind him in annoyance and Nite Owl snorted. Dan had, really good friends. "Thanks for listening."

"Are you going to ask Adrian or Jon for help?" Laurie stood up soon after and held his arm to steady him when Dan swayed. She wouldn't contact either of them if Dan was already planning on visiting.

"Adrian thinks its all in my head." Dan muttered. The genius had been the first place they went despite Rorschach's complaints. "He spent a few hours observing me sleep but this 'Freddy' didn't show until after he'd left. When he did show and the nightmare started, Rorschach went to get him again but by the time they'd gotten there I went still. Whatever's doing this is smart and Adrian can't help us without proof. He's not taking my word for it."

Laurie hesitated a bit. "And Jon?"

"No offense, Laurie, but I don't think I want him in my head any more than the burnt man." Dan chuckled. Jon was an absolute last resort considering they weren't sure just what he could do or what effects he'd have. Besides, sometimes Dan wasn't sure that Jon was really there with them even when he was standing in the room. "I'll let you know if we find anything."

"Let me know if you need _anything_, Dan. I mean it." Laurie grabbed his shoulders tight before giving him a hug. Silk Spectre still wasn't sure if she believed what Dan was telling her – but she knew that _Dan_ believed what he was saying. Laurie rubbed his shoulders and hoped whatever this was worked itself out for the better. Or at the very least there was something she could do to help in some way. "Take care of yourself."

"I'll try." Dan sighed and leant into the hug before walking out. Telling Laurie had made him feel a tad better even if they hadn't come to a solution. Misery loved company after all and it wasn't fair to burden Rorschach with all of it. Though, Dan had to wonder what options he had left.

* * *

"Need sleep, Daniel." Rorschach sat with his hands on his knees. Nite Owl was tinkering with some sort of gadget; hands were shaking. Rorschach was used to not sleeping. Could go two, three days easy patrolling the streets as Kovacs or during his night job. But even Rorschach slept. Power naps on the days he pushed it. Never went past three days; wracked his nerves. Apparently it made Daniel grumpy, too. Definitely not healthy. "Going on six days."

"The record is 11 if I recall, and that was without stimulants." Dan popped another energy pill and chased it down with more coffee. He cursed as he spilt a bit down his shirt. Stupid shaking blasted mug. He slammed it down with more force than necessary. He wondered how long Rorschach would put up with his moodiness but it was hard not to be moody when your friend was breathing down your neck every second of the day. "Stop reminding me I'm not sleeping. It's not helping." He snapped at the end.

"Sleep deprivation causing mood swings."

"And stop stating the obvious!" Dan stood up this time and shouted throwing his screwdriver on the ground. "I know! But you're not the one with a psychopath in his head!"

Rorschach merely grunted and let Nite Owl continue his rant. Rorschach had heard worse threats and curses his way before. Daniel at least didn't mean half of what he was saying. Daniel punched the side of Archimedes and Rorschach decided to intervene before he broke his hand. "Focus, Nite Owl. Calm down."

"Right, right. Calm. I'm calm." Dan let his head hit the side of the ship and felt the cool metal pressing into his forehead. Archimedes always made him feel better somehow, even when they weren't flying together. It was one thing to read about symptoms of sleep deprivation, but experiencing them was another. Dan had thought he could handle it but had apparently done nothing but scream at his best friend. "I'm sorry I yelled."

"Can't help it." Rorschach took his had off and smoothed his face against his hair before turning towards the stairs. He wanted a snack; Daniel still had beans in the cabinet if he remembered. "Not a problem."

Dan pushed up and followed his partner vigilante up the stairs knowing he was headed for the cabinets. Rorschach always ate when he came to visit but Dan didn't particularly mind. He was up for a coffee refresher anyway. "It wouldn't be so bad, ya' know if I wasn't all alone in here."

Rorschach nodded. It was amazing the difference made having someone at your back meant in the field. Rorschach would give anything to get in there and throw a punch or two of his own. Let Daniel take a breather. "Would be there if could."

"I know ya' would, buddy." Dan sighed as he stumbled into his kitchen after the masked man. He almost laughed wondering if Rorschach would appear in his dreams with the mask on. Sometimes Dan didn't think there was a person under that thing; that Rorschach didn't even _have_ an alter identity. If he did, Dan had never met him and Nite Owl wasn't all that sure he needed to. Dan slapped Rorschach on the back of the shoulder in a manly, friendly sort of way. "I know you would."

* * *

Rorschach walked slower than usual as he approached the stairs leading up and out of Daniel's basement lair. Something wasn't quite right in the room. He turned slowly and saw Nite Owl's uniform still in place on the wall in its protective case. Archimedes still sitting proudly on its stand, begging for flight. An over head light flickered and Rorschach's gaze jumped to it. A second flicker and he calmed. Would tell Daniel light bulb needed changing.

A loud clatter sounded throughout the room and Rorschach tensed again. Daniel had sent Rorschach down to the lair to pick up a set of plans he was working on to help keep his mind busy while he struggled to stay awake. Rorschach had sat down at the desk and read them for a moment to make sure he had the right papers before standing up with them again. There had been no noises during that entire exchange.

Rorschach dropped the pamphlet of papers on the steps before reaching over the edge to pick up a crow bar. Daniel was good for having things like that around in a pinch. He stalked towards the origin of the clatter and looked around to see a stand of tools on its side. "Show yourself!"

Silence.

Rorschach's grip tightened as he turned the corner looking into the darkened areas where the overhead lights just didn't reach. Stands didn't just fall over. Something there in the lair. Rorschach snarled in anger. First all these problems with Daniel and now scum was coming in with the sewage. Rorschach hoped Daniel didn't mind blood spatter on walls. "Come out!"

This time, Rorschach was met with growling. He stilled when he saw _it_ come out from behind Archimedes. Teeth barred, eyes narrowed. Dog. No, Rorschach took a step back. German Shepard. The vigilante wondered how a dog could have wondered into the lair. Clearly had an owner as the red and green striped bandana hooked around its neck attested to. Rorschach lowered his weapon and sighed. Just a dumb mutt. A second growl occurred and Rorschach turned and nearly dropped the crow bar. The dog had a friend. Another German Shepard.

Whose head was split open like a butterfly.

Memories started flooding back to Rorschach like a sick joke. The panties, the burnt ashes, the bones and the dogs growling back and forth fighting over a person. He remembered killing the dogs that had been eating a person. No, not just a person, a little girl. Too young, too cruel. Why? And most of all-

"You were too late."

Rorschach's throat dried like the Sahara and the crowbar did drop this time. As if appearing from no where standing next to the dog was a tiny little girl that matched a certain missing person's flyer. Rorschach could feel Kovacs choking back to life; shaking. Cowering. _Weak_. Rorschach would kill whoever was playing this joke on him. That girl couldn't be standing there any more than the dog could. "You're dead."

"And whose fault is that?" The little girl mumbled as she played with her dress him. Rorschach noted the same red and green stripes that had been around the other dog's neck lining her dress. Rorschach turned quickly and realized that the first dog had vanished. The girl giggled. "You didn't save me in time, Mister. The big bad man got me."

"Stop this." Rorschach blurted out. He had left his trench coat in the kitchen so he should have almost been cold in Daniel's basement, but it felt as though the temperature was rising. It was too hot. He loosened the collar of his shirt. Didn't help. The girl kept staring at him with those accusing eyes. Rorschach felt like he couldn't breathe. Kovacs was freaking out. Rorschach had to pull up the bottom of his face to gulp in air directly.

Rorschach felt oddly naked exposing that much.

"Nothing to say?" The little girl (who was _not_ Blair Roche Rorschach repeated to himself) asked sweetly. "Why didn't you find me?"

Breathing seemed too hard and Rorschach pushed down on himself and tried to smother Kovacs. Kovacs was _dead_ and he shouldn't be causing a panic attack. "You're not real."

"I'm not?" The girl chuckled happily and Rorschach flinched when her voice began to drop. When she opened her mouth again, the voice was definitely that of an elder male and scratchy. "And what makes you say that?"

It clicked all too sudden for Rorschach and he ducked down to grab his grow bar. "Freddy." He growled but when he looked up the girl was gone. A slight tingle went up Rorschach's throat and there was a warm breath on his ear. Hand on his stomach _under the shirt._ "That's what my friend's call me."

The crowbar swung through the air from instinct and swung uselessly in the air missing its target. Rorschach looked around at the ready for the man that had been hunting down his best friend. That had been _touching_ him so disgustingly. "Show yourself!"

"If you insist." Rorschach turned to come face to face with the other man who was so close that they could feel each other's breaths intermingling. The smell was rancid; could peel paint. The room was still unbearably hot and felt ten times so with the man invading his personal space. The man was burnt horribly head to toe as if he'd been trapped in a building and left to burn…

Suddenly the appearance of the Blair Roche girl wasn't all that odd. There had been very few men Rorschach had left to burn to death. Very few who had a personal vendetta against Rorschach. His voice answered back strong and determined. Rorschach didn't fear ghosts. "I killed you!"

Freddy took a few steps back and laughed hysterically before displaying a clawed hand in front of him like a fan. "Good guess, but no. You didn't. Unless you've got a kid on Elm Street perhaps?" Freddy paused and shook his clawed finger towards the masked man. "Not that it matters, I'm pretty sure I would have done the same to that little girl myself if I had been the man that killed your inner self."

This man knew too much. If he wasn't the child killer who'd murdered Rorche, than who was he? "What the hell are you!?"

"I thought you knew." Freddy chuckled. "But really, I'm not here to talk." Freddy disappeared and Rorschach started to spin to try and find the man again fully ready to make sure his face got well acquainted with the metal weapon in his hand. Rorschach hissed when he felt something slam into his gut and slice through his back at once. Freddy's voice was in his ear again. "I'm hear to dance."

Rorschach jerked awake screaming his hoarse lungs out. Looked to side quickly to see Daniel standing there concerned; holding his shoulders. Man, dogs and girl was gone. His personal space was no longer being violated. He was no longer being touched. Man was gone. Just the lair and Rorschach sitting at a desk. "Daniel."

"You fell asleep." Dan spoke softly and rubbed the shoulder. He bit his lip feeling almost guilty. He had forgotten almost that Rorschach wasn't getting any sleep either while keeping watch. And he hadn't been drinking the coffee. It's no wonder he had fallen asleep at Dan's work bench in the basement. "You were screaming so badly I heard you upstairs."

He had been asleep? Rorschach's breathing started to calm. "Woke me up?"

"No, you did that on your own." Dan held his face in his hands praying that Rorschach had just had a normal nightmare. Nite Owl really didn't want to consider the other option. "Are you okay?"

"Saw him." Rorschach gripped his fists on the desk. Daniel's tormenter now had a face. And it was uglier than his own. His voice was choked at he spit out the name of the man he was _going_ to bring to justice. "Saw Fred."

Dan was too distracted to put two and two together just yet concerning his friend suddenly seeing his dream attacker. There were other pressing issues to attend to and Dan wondered slightly if this is how Rorschach must have felt walking in on Dan all those weeks ago. Dan felt himself falling into 'mother hen' mode as Laurie liked to put it. "Your back is bleeding!"

Rorschach jerked when Daniel pulled up the shirt to try and access the damage, tried to ignore the feelings of hands on him. Rorschach hated to be touched and- Daniel was shaking. Instantly distracted from his discomfort, the masked man watched his friend fall to his knees. Rorschach tried to turn and see what had been done to himself to cause such a reaction. "What? What is it Daniel?"

"Your…your back." Dan was going to vomit. He held his hand over his mouth and crawled over towards the utility sink as quickly as he could squashing the guilt of just leaving his friend unanswered.

Rorschach stood and walked slowly, even painfully now that he was aware of the bleeding on his back towards the mirror next to Nite Owl's uniform. He could hear Daniel emptying his stomach sickly and echoing in the background. Rorschach turned his back towards the mirror and gaped openly for a what felt like a full minute. Rorschach snarled before slamming a fist into the mirror. Scratched into his back was a single sentence. Bastard even drew a heart next to his signature:

_Now I've got two... Love, Fred Krueger._


	4. Chapter 4

For the record, I do not hate Laurie. She annoyed me – but I do not hate her. Just thought you all should know ahead of time. XD

Fair warning, this is where things start going down hill and it starts looking more like a horror fic. Thanks for reading & reviewing! Enjoy!

**Part IV**

"So." Dan swallowed and rubbed his hands together awkwardly. Rorschach's wound had been wrapped and the man was sitting there, shirt and overcoat back on; entire body visibly tense.

Once Dan had gathered himself and stopped vomiting into the sink, it had become very apparent that Rorschach was radiating anger. Jon would have been proud; Rorschach was practically nuclear himself. Dan was tempted to cook an egg on his back to check but felt he might lose a finger. Now, though, Dan just had to figure out if it was because of the message now carved into his back, the nightmare itself or both. Shifting himself in the chair and placing his hands back on the kitchen table to steady himself, Dan looked at his friend across the way. "Are you going to tell me what happened?"

Rorschach jerked slightly. Friend or not, discussing the Blair case was not something he wanted to bring up with Daniel. Not a good memory; dealt too much with Kovacs. Had no desire to break Daniel. Rorschach went for truth minus details. "Attacked. Krueger had access to personal memories. Used to shape shift and confuse." Rorschach growled and laced his fingers together tightly. He heard the leather stretching in his gloves. "Caught off guard."

"Personal memories?" Dan sat up a bit straighter. Fred had used the shape shifting thing before, but he was always mimicking something random or people Dan hadn't met before. It was all rather impersonal save for the occasional shot at his owl hobby. Now he had access to Rorschach's personal thoughts? The things that were in his head when he wasn't wearing that mask? Dan could feel the chill; he could barely picture Rorschach as having a personal life. "Like what? He read your mind?"

"Yes." Quick short answer.

"Well that's weird." Dan's face scrunched a bit trying to process this information. He tried to squash the curiosity to know what exactly it was that affected him. But Rorschach seemed against sharing at the moment. Dan liked keeping the death threats in his dreams for the moment, if you please. "Nothing he ever did to me was personal."

"Doesn't matter." Rorschach pulled his coat tighter around himself as his fists gripped tighter around each other. He longed to have another go at Krueger, but needed to prepare first. Needed a battle plan to take him out and bring man to justice. One could not escape justice; not even in the mind. "End goal hasn't changed."

"Yeah, but maybe this means he has a power now he didn't before." Dan muttered. The thought of this guy being able to read his mind in addition to everything else was just depressing. "How do we fight a guy who just gets stronger?"

"Same way we always do." Rorschach stood up from the chair and walked over to the counter; grabbed a handful of sugar cubes from the dish Daniel had set out. Daniel was a good friend even in rough times. "Power through. Don't give up."

Dan chuckled and rubbed at his eyes. They were burning behind his eyelids and begging to be closed for an extended period of time. He'd never, ever, take sleep for granted again. Dan reached out and grabbed his coffee mug and took another swig of the liquid that was steadily losing its effect. "Easier said than done, buddy."

"Never said it would be easy." Rorschach shoved a sugar cube in his mouth and stared up at the ceiling. A second one followed quickly enough. "Need a better way to stay awake." He paused. "Or fight while asleep."

"I wasn't seeing many weak spots in there, were you?" Dan snarled before taking a breath. These mood swings might be the death of him long before exhaustion. "It's like he's invincible or something."

"Nothing is invisible. Just missing something." Rorschach pulled his face back down and tucked it into his collar. Rorschach tapped his finger on the counter as he ran through the past couple of days. Shape shifter. Regenerating qualities. Mind reader. Perfect nightmare. Rorschach's hand gripped into a fist. "Need to find it."

"Yeah, well." Dan held his head and took in a shaky breath. The design on his plate mats was spinning. Dan wondered if the pharmacy would have anything to help him stay awake. "Let's hope it's quick. I'm not sure how much longer I can stay on my feet without passing out, Rorschach."

"Might have to risk naps." The inkblots shifted on his face slowly. "Take turns watching."

"And if we fall asleep while on guard?" Dan prompted with a chuckle. Rorschach was glaring at him now (do not ask how Dan knew that through the mask, but he always knew), but Dan proceeded anyway. "I already know I won't make it through an hour by myself and last I checked you fell asleep just by sitting down."

"Get outside help." Rorschach snorted in agreement. This was too important to risk failing. However, their options were limited as to 'friends' they could ask. Rorschach nearly hit himself for even bringing this particular person up. Still shocked Daniel himself hadn't brought the woman up. "Ask Jupiter."

"Laurie?" Dan tilted his head. "Yeah, she did offer to help with whatever, didn't she?" Nite Owl wondered how he could have brushed it off so easily. It was almost funny making her come through with her promise. "Wake us up if we have a nightmare. Easy."

Rorschach shrugged and walked to the side of the kitchen and grabbed Nite Owl's coat before throwing it at him. Might as well get this visit over with before Rorschach lost his will to spend more time with the woman. "No time to waste."

"It's four in the morning." Dan fumbled a bit with the coat. "She's probably asleep."

Rorschach stared at him without a word.

"Right, wake her up." Dan snorted and shrugged on his coat. He wasn't sure what was scarier: Krueger, a grumpy Rorschach, the wrath of a women woken from slumber, or the thought of catching her in bed with Jon again. Dan grabbed his keys off the counter and headed for the door to the lair knowing Rorschach was already following. "Let's get this over with."

* * *

Laurie was starting to regret thinking Dan was crazy even for a moment.

"Shit!" Laurie exclaimed as her foot was pricked by an upturned screw from the side of the rickety catwalk. She stumbled for a moment and grabbed the railing to look down for any damage. Laurie sighed in relief when she saw there was no blood and rubbed her arm through the costume sleeve. The crime fighter huffed and took another careful step this time avoiding the screw.

Fully dressed in her crime fighting gear minus the shoes.

Silk Spectre wondered what in her subconscious made that up for a dream. The costume part? Yeah, she could understand that. But why on earth would she stay the same way she went to bed? Couldn't her mind dream up some proper footwear? Laurie sighed and rounded another corner in the creepy boiler room. Laurie wished she had a smoke. All of Dan's talks about dreams and that Freddy guy had rubbed off on her and now she was dreaming about it.

Laurie supposed this is what happens when you work too hard. The whole thing with Dan and Rorschach had left Laurie frustrated enough to make sure Jon knew she wanted a little time to herself. Time to herself meant Laurie spent the night patrolling alone and ended up taking down at least two gangs. By the time she got home she walked right past Jon in the lab (of course stopping to give him a quick kiss on the cheek), kicked off her shoes and collapsed in bed for a well deserved day of sleep, much more relaxed.

Sadly, her dreams failed to cooperate. They had started out so nicely, too, Laurie sighed to herself. When she first closed her eyes she was happy strolling along the beach, feet in the sand and before she knew it the sky was getting darker and she turned a corner to find herself in a steaming, dark, dank, red boiler room. Laurie blamed Rorschach. It had to be that madman's fault Dan was having nightmares. One couldn't stay in his company for long and not have something go wrong with their heads.

Laurie jerked and dodged to the side when a pipe suddenly burst open and sprayed her with steam. She bit her tongue to keep from screaming as the heat scolded her skin. She stared at the red, burnt wound on her shoulder (heat eating right through her costume) and tapped it gently. It stung. Laurie wasn't a declared genius like Adrian, but even she realized dreams weren't supposed to hurt that much.

"Get a grip, Laurie. You're the Silk Spectre!" She breathed to herself. She shuttered a bit when her voice echoed somehow among all the industrial noises of steam and creaking metal. "You've faced worse." Laurie started to chuckle and move away from the broken pipe. "Hell, you're dating a man who's a walking powerhouse. Can destroy whole cities in the blink of an eye and you can tell him what to do and when to do it." Laurie stood up a bit straighter, confidence restoring. She'd had stake outs in scarier places than this. "Yeah, this is nothing."

"Guess I'll have to work a little harder then."

Laurie froze and slowly moved her feet into a more defensive position. That was one voice she knew she had never heard before. Now she definitely knew the stuff Dan had been talking about had gotten to her. "You're going to have to try a lot harder than that to scare me."

"Oh, how so?"

Laurie scanned the room with her eyes. The voice was clearly coming from the side somewhere, but she wasn't sure just where. If she could locate the threat, she could beat the crap out of it and get back to her nice dream on the beach. Seemed she still had some tension to get out of her system. "I'm dating a walking weapon of mass destruction and on a team with a psychopath, an even crazier psychopath and-"

The voice cut her off. "I don't think that second one counts." There was a chuckle. "You see, I met that dude with the cow mask and he was just as scared as the rest, you know. Just some guy in costume." A pause. "Never found masks all that scary, myself." Another laugh. "That guy with the owl fetish wasn't very scary either."

"Dan I can understand, but I find it hard to believe you met Rorschach if you don't think he's scary." So the guy she dreamed up was talkative. Wonderful. Laurie took a few steps cautiously forward towards the catwalk stairs. Better to fight on the solid ground. "But I suppose the point is the disjointed voice in the background isn't doing it for me. Why don't you come out and play face to face?"

"Fine by me."

Laurie could feel her face contorting into pure disgust as something warm and wet made its way up her neck and over her ear. A shiver worked it's way down her spine when she realized someone had snuck up on her so effectively he had licked her ear without her notice. Shock wearing off, Laurie reacted and snarled as she swung around to deliver a blow to the man's gut with her elbow.

Silk Spectre missed.

"What?" Laurie shouted as she turned around. She reached up and felt the saliva still coating her ear but there was no one there. "Where'd he go?" Laurie rubbed the disgusting liquid off her hand onto the back of her thigh and looked around. The temperature in the room felt like it was increasing again. Sweat was starting to pour down her body and onto the ground. "Come out here and take a punch like a man!"

"I'd rather not."

Laurie swung around to the sound of the man's voice and gasped slightly. A burnt man in a fedora and an ugly green and red sweater. It matched Dan's description to the letter. Somehow, Laurie was doubting whether or not this was just a dream created by his stories. "Oh God."

"It's amazing how many people make that mistake." Freddy wagged a finger at the lovely specimen in front of him. "But it's just little old Freddy."

Laurie got a grip on herself and shook her head. This was all some crazy dream caused by stress and worry for her friends. "You, you're just a part of my imagination! You're not real!"

"People always say that, too." Krueger walked up closer, a slight skip in his step. It was so much fun when they stood around to talk. They always ran immediately after getting to know him, so he cherished these first meetings. "But I'm very real."

Laurie threw an arm forward to try and catch the man in the jaw. He wasn't there which meant no consequences for taking out some stress on her dream punching bag. "Let's see just how real you are!"

Freddy ducked to the side and avoided the hit. "Hey now! Not the face!"

"It's not like I can mess it up any more than it already is." Laurie jabbed again and started to feel Dan's frustration. This guy was as slippery as an eel. Laurie ran forward again, ignoring the burning of her bare feet. "Stand still so I can try and fix it."

"Much as I'd love to play, I'm on a bit of a schedule." Freddy chuckled before dashing behind a boiler. "Come and catch me if you can!"

It was probably stupid, but something about this man just pissed her off. Maybe it was the hat reminding her of Rorschach or her anger at Dan for making her have these weird dreams int he first place but Laurie was dead set on beating this bastard's face in before she woke up. Silk Spectre took off after the loon and turned the corner after him-

"Oh, should'a ducked." Freddy winced as the lady hit the ground. "Looks like it hurt."

Laurie clawed at her chest trying to get a grip on the pole that was imbedded through her rib cage. Laurie had run straight into the sharpened pipe sticking horizontally out of a random dead-end wall when she turned the corner; her eyes burned from the agonizing pain. "Wha, what?"

Freddy strolled around her as she stood there trying to pull at the pole. It wasn't his most creative moment, but it was sure to leave an interesting mark for his latest kids to find and figure out. "Need a hand?"

"Screw you." Laurie gasped before pulling back far enough to free herself from the pole. The blood gushed a bit but she covered it quickly with her arms to try and stem the flow. The man was still staring at her now, smiling. She looked down and finally noticed the knives on his fingers twitching and scraping against each other. The burnt man was staring at her thoughtfully and Laurie swallowed. "What do you want?"

"Not much, really." Freddy walked up closer and pinned her against a wall. "Little love, little fun, but I think you mean right now?" He lashed out and grabbed a fist full of her hair before bashing her head into a pipe. Now disoriented, Freddy was free to steal a kiss, relishing her groan into his mouth. He laughed his next words straight into her mouth. "I need to send a message."

* * *

"Is it just me, or is it way too quiet in here?" Dan asked as he walked through the Watchmen entrance in the back of Jon and Laurie's compound. Normally this place was bustling with steam and computers beeping and Jon moving things with his mind. But, All Dan noticed was the lights off. Dan felt along the wall and flipped the switch to the overhead lights. He looked around the lab and noticed the absolute still of the room and equipment. "Where's Jon? He doesn't sleep at all, right? Shouldn't he be working? We'd know if he was out, right? I mean, but that doesn't make any sense. Jon doesn't go out unless Laurie drags him."

Rorschach noticed Daniel was starting to string together sentences and talk faster. Nerves were getting to him. Not mistaken, however, as Rorschach too was sensing something _very_ wrong in the blue man's lab. Rorschach strode forward past Daniel and headed towards Ms. Jupiter's room. Froze when he breathed in and Rorschach _knew_ _that smell._

"Hey! Rorschach!" Dan cried out when the masked man dashed forward in a sprint toward's Laurie's room. Where on earth did he get that energy from? Nite Owl was still thankful he wasn't in costume. "Wait up!"

Rorschach burst into the door and froze. Felt his stomach drop and was glad he had seen worse. Rorschach needed to keep his calm; remain unaffected. When he heard Daniel catching up he slammed the door shut and stood in front of it. So much for unaffected. "Can't go in, Daniel."

"Rorschach." Dan stood staring at the man hunched in front of the door, grip tight on the door knob. Dan slowly looked up at the door. Something was very wrong. Very, very wrong. Daniel tried to look around the masked man. "Rorschach, why can't I go in?"

"Can't see." Rorschach breathed in through his teeth. Daniel couldn't see this. It'd destroy him. "Trust." The words weren't coming out the way they needed to. Rorschach fumbled for the right ones. "Trust me, Daniel."

Dan narrowed his eyes and felt something in his throat constrict. Suddenly Dan felt that whatever was behind that door was important. Enough to freak out the unmovable Rorschach. Dan needed his resolve. "Rorschach, get out of the way."

Rorschach shook his head. "Daniel." He took in a breath and considered knocking Daniel out, but had to retract that idea when he realized that would hand Daniel right over to Krueger. "Please, trust me. Don't want to see."

"What happened to Laurie, Rorschach?" Dan had a sickening feeling he knew. This wasn't like the time Rorschach walked in on her and Jon in bed. At the time, Rorschach hadn't cared and let Dan go right on in and make the same mistake before grumbling about loose morals. This time, though, Rorschach was shaking and holding the door closed so tightly Dan thought the handle might snap off. Dan repeated himself. "What happened to Laurie?"

"Dead." Rorschach answered, hand still on the door. Daniel would find that out eventually, but he didn't need to, didn't need to _see_ it. He heard a thump that Rorschach could only assume was his friend's knees hitting the floor. He took in another breath and kept the door shut firmly. "Don't want to see." Rorschach flinched when he heard the hitched sob come from his friend.

Rorschach had never been fond of Ms. Jupiter. Loose woman, bad influence. But Daniel had been fond of her; probably interested. And now he was sobbing on his knees, spared only the knowledge of how horrifically Ms. Jupiter passed on to the next life. Rorschach prayed it was enough to keep Daniel from breaking. Couldn't let him die. Rorschach needed both: A partner in Nite Owl and a friend in Daniel. It was all he had.

Rorschach snarled to himself and flinched hard enough to break off the door handle. It clattered to the ground and rolled towards Daniel. The door slowly crept open an inch and he couldn't stop Daniel from seeing a sliver of the blood on the wall. Rorschach was thankful Daniel turned away on his own and held his head between his knees as he curled on the floor and heaved. Krueger was a dead man.

* * *

"I can not express my sincere condolences to you, Daniel." Adrian put a hand on the man's shoulder as they stood in the graveyard. The service had been beautiful and no expense had been spared thanks to Ozymandia's contribution. It had been a quiet affair, despite the number of masks present. Rorschach lingered in the bushes out of sight, but he was still there for Daniel which is what counted. Adrian himself noticed the bags under Daniels' eyes. "Still not sleeping?"

"Can't." Dan sucked in a breath. Eight days with absolutely no sleep. He'd been too tired and exhausted even to mourn Laurie properly after his first breakdown upon hearing the news. Dan just felt dead inside. Laurie was dead and Dan wondered if it was his fault. Laurie was gone, dead. Who would be next? "I just, I can't."

Adrian knew a battle lost when he saw it and nodded slowly. The last time he saw Daniel Dreinberg came to mind and the sleep study he had performed. That and his fixation with a man in his dreams out to kill him. He wanted Dan to have the benefit of the doubt, but it was possible the young Nite Owl II was losing his mind. But, now was not the time to let Daniel know he was currently a suspect in Ms. Jupiter's murder. "Take care of yourself, Dan."

Rorschach watched Veidt walk away from Daniel and calmed. His friend was too out of it to see the signs, but Rorschach was more than well aware they were suspects. No one would believe them if they said Laurie Jupiter was killed by Fred Krueger. Instead, they saw a blank Daniel and a tense Rorschach standing in front of the crime scene. First on the scene.

And a gruesome scene it was.

Thankfully Daniel never saw the body even with the small glance he got, but even Rorschach couldn't stop him from entering after the paramedics had removed Ms. Jupiter from the scene covered with a cloth. Daniel was greeted by the words "KrUGeR wAs HeRE" written along the back wall in blood. It was smeared, messy and later forensics revealed Laurie's own fingerprints.

Krueger had made Laurie write the message with her own blood.

Rorschach snarled again to himself before starting to sink farther back into the woods before he was seen. Krueger was able to enter all of their minds it seemed. Was no one safe? Certainly no one who slept could be. Rorschach rubbed his face and squat down out of sight. Well, there was one person who never slept who could probably be of help. If not for one major problem of course:

Dr. Manhattan had disappeared.

No one had seen Dr. Manhattan since Ms. Jupiter's passing. Possible man was in mourning and isolated self to grieve. Doubtful he would be returning soon if this was the case. Rorschach was hesitant to make guesses past that, but for sure that the man was gone without a single trace or clue. Lab untouched and empty. Government naturally going crazy and promising to solve this murder to bring him comfort.

Rorschach doubted Manhattan cared.

Rorschach looked up when he heard a rustling in the bushes and tensed ready to bolt. He calmed when he saw Daniel push through the pushes, tie now open and loose hanging around his neck. His eyes were red and puffy, but there were no tears. Rorschach wondered if Daniel had any left.

"Funeral's over, Rorschach." Dan collapsed on the ground next to his squatting partner, deciding instead to sit fully on his rump. He spread his legs out in front of him and leaned against the rather large shade tree. "Laurie's really gone, isn't she?"

"Yes, Daniel." Rorschach reached out a shaky hand and put it on Daniel's shoulder as he had seen Veidt do earlier. Seemed appropriate. "Sorry."

"Not your fault." Dan sucked in a breath and let it out slowly. His voice was even when he was continued. "We have to get this guy." Dan knew Rorschach nodded in agreement. Daniel's face started to harden into his 'Game Face' as Laurie had dubbed it. "Have to take him out." Daniel gripped his fists and pictured his kevlar and his gloves and the equipment he took such care in creating. "I think it's time Fred Krueger said hello to Nite Owl."

For once, Rorschach couldn't agree more.


	5. Chapter 5

I get to cover one of my favorite Freddy tricks in this one. I think it's been in most of the movies ever since the first one & a more extreme variation in the remake. Ha ha. Love it. Oh – and before anyone calls me on it, I've granted Daniel the first Kristen's (Dream Warriors) awesome 'bring other people into dreams power'. Only you know, no one will call him on it. But it's there. It's there. *nods sagely*

And a friendly reminder – it is the horror genre. And we all know how many people are allowed to survive by the end. :D

Thanks for reading & reviewing – you guys are awesome.

**Part V**

The plan had been simple. Since the pair had very little left to lose at the moment, Daniel and Rorschach agreed a head on attack would be most beneficial. And if not the most beneficial, than definitely the most satisfying. Despite failed earlier attempts with physical attacks, at this point just the knowledge he could punch that bastard in the face repeatedly brought a bit of comfort to Nite Owl. It was also the original plan prior to Ms. Jupiter's passing so either way they hadn't taken a step back in their planning.

Only now, it was Rorschach keeping watch while Nite Owl slept instead of the two of them going in at the same time. Someone needed to stay awake on the off chance the other started to fail. There had been a brief argument over who would go in, but Daniel won. Ms. Jupiter's passing had induced more rage than originally realized. Rorschach backed down. So, Nite Owl found himself in full suit and gear prepared to take on the entire underworld if need be sitting in his basement on a cot.

They exchanged a brief nod acknowledging the plan was a go and Nite Owl laid back on the cot and placed his hands on his stomach. Rorschach watched his partner's eyes shut and took in a short breath. A few seconds later and partner was out like a light with Rorschach watching, armed with a steel pipe, for anything suspicious.

Sadly, the words of Steinbeck seemed appropriately true when it came to best laid plans.

Rorschach cursed once again before kicking the nearest metal handrail with enough force to break the rusted thing. He fell asleep. Rorschach fell asleep. One, one damn thing to do and he fell asleep. Rorschach didn't even feel like he was nodding off. One thing he was looking at Nite Owl breathing evenly, and then nothing but red, steam and metal. Rorschach's fist was tight around the pipe he thankfully was still carrying and stalked along the boiler room overhangs and pathways looking for signs of anyone- be it Nite Owl or Krueger.

So far, Rorschach found himself alone.

The vigilante considered this in itself as a fear tactic to keep Rorschach on edge. Whether or not it was working had yet to be seen as the fighter was far too angry with himself for falling asleep in the first place to be bothered with something trivial like fear of someone jumping out at him with a knife. In fact, Rorschach would almost welcome that at the moment. Beating someone's face in with his pipe would definitely do wonders for his nerves.

He started to run the pipe along the metal walls creating a screeching noise as he walked, tapping it at random intervals to listen to the clangs echo throughout the crowded, steaming room. Krueger wasn't the only one who could cause intimidation. Rorschach continued on his way in this fashion looking for signs of anyone but coming up short. No hallucinations, no imposters, no Krueger, no Nite Owl – just a crime fighter making metallic noises bashing metal on metal. One tap, however, was a miscalculation as it knocked a rickety pipe out of place blasting Rorschach with a burst of steam.

Immediately covering his face with his hand to try and catalog the damage left Rorschach frozen in place. His fingers dug into the flesh of his cheek and he took in a deep breath. Something was very wrong. Looking up and around, Rorschach tried to spy a reflective surface in all of the metal surrounding him to come up short. However, a creak from the side drew his attention and Rorschach made the dash for a conveniently placed set of industrial wall lockers. The door on the end hung open revealing a small square mirror. Rorschach ripped the metal door open all the way to get a look at himself. Rorschach saw his own eyes widen.

His face was missing.

* * *

"Where the hell are you Freddy?" Nite Owl called out through his basement. The oddest thing about these dreams by far had to be that each and everyone started him off right where he fell asleep. But Nite Owl knew better by this point. Sooner or later he'd either come across a bunch of creepy children or a boiler room. His biggest tip off that the time was fast approaching was the change in temperature. Freddy liked to turn up the heat right before his appearance.

Dan wondered if he did it on purpose or if it was just a side effect of being whatever it was Freddy was.

Nite Owl didn't particularly care.

"Get the hell out here you bastard!" Nite Owl screamed again waiting for something to change. Something to happen. Something, anything to help him get rid of these feelings of helplessness and frustration. "I've got a bone to pick with you!"

"There's no need to yell, Dan. Or is it Nite Owl at the moment? You are in full costume." Replied a cheerful, familiar voice. "We can all hear you, you know."

Nite Owl gasped out right as he turned towards the voice and felt his voice choke up in his throat. He could barely rasp out the name of the person standing to his right. A person covered head to toe in blood so thick you couldn't even tell the color of her costume any longer. Brunette hair now matted and plastered in clumps to her head. A previously warm, welcome chest ripped open and full of puss. His voice caught in his throat as his eyes started to tear up. "Laurie."

"Oh, don't cry, Dan." Laurie cooed as she took a few steps closer, reached a hand up and pet his cheek. She rubbed her thumb just under the goggles in a soothing motion. "It's okay."

Nite Owl flinched when her hand touched him and he felt the warm substance leave a streak. "But, how." Dan sucked in a breath. "This is a trick. You're not real."

Laurie chuckled. "Oh, you don't understand very much, do you Dan?" The blood covered Silk Spectre rose up on the tips of her toes to come face to face with Nite Owl. "I'm real."

Dan felt sick. He could feel Laurie's warm breath on his mouth and his nose was filled with the rancid scent of old blood. Her face was getting ever closer and Nite Owl instinctively reacted by grabbing her shoulders to holder in place. His voice shuddered. "You're dead."

"Yeah." Laurie whispered softly. "I am."

Nite Owl wasn't given a chance to respond as Laurie used an inhuman strength to push past his arms and bring her lips to meet his in a kiss. Dan shoved at her with more force this time but she wouldn't budge and continued to push her way farther until a rotting tongue was shoved into his mouth.

She held like that for a few moments before releasing the man. She chuckled when Nite Owl started to gag off to the side. "Sorry." Laurie smirked before laughing out right at the glare. "You need more practice."

"How dare you." Nite Owl responded, voice low and angry. "Take that disguise off." A beat and a snarl. "Now."

"Disguise?" Laurie chuckled before doing a little spin in place. "Maybe." She took a few skips to the other side of Nite Owl and blew a kiss. "But for now, I have somewhere else to be. Looks like another one of your friends wants to play."

"Hey!" Dan moved his feet to follow and hesitated when the scenery shifted to the familiar boiler room. What on earth was it with Krueger and this place? Before he could ponder his surroundings too much longer, Dan realized 'Laurie' was already fast running around the corner.

Nite Owl took off after the imposter with as much speed as he could muster, cape flickering behind him and boots landing heavily on the metal. Thankfully, his armor protected him from the jets of steam coming from every which direction so he could follow more easily. He saw a flicker of brown hair round the corner and he headed full force towards it.

Only to smack into something solid.

Both Dan and whatever it was he ran into collided hard enough to send both of them backwards and to the ground. Dan heard the second thump as he reached up to adjust his goggles, followed by an angry growl that sounded familiar but just a bit different. He looked up to see what he hit and tilted his own head much like the owls that he so loved.

There getting up on his own knees was a red headed man, face covered in freckles and pock marks. A rather familiar face that Dan saw quite often, actually. But why on earth was he in Dan's dream?

* * *

Adrian Veidt was not an ignorant man. Nor was he superstitious or prone to actions without proper thought behind them. In such a case, it was natural that he would draw a conclusion that Daniel's odd nightmares and Laurie's death would be related in some way. The connection of the message written on Laurie's wall and the details of Daniel's dream were unlikely to be so similar if the events were not related. Laurie had called him after all, when Daniel too paid her a visit to discuss said nightmares and requested if he had any knowledge of a man named 'Freddy Krueger.' Adrian of course, explained that he had monitored Daniel's sleep and found nothing to be amiss.

"The stress is getting to him, I think." Veidt had told her casually. Laurie agreed and also supported one of his second theories on the matter with he reply of "I bet it's Rorschach. Lord knows you can't hang around him all day and not get messed up from it."

Needless to say, Adrian was prepared to write it off as nothing, that is, until Laurie was murdered. Factor in the disappearance of Manhattan soon after and Adrian had a bit of a mystery on his hands. Never once though, did he give weight to Daniel and Rorschach's claims that their dreams were haunting them for real. Things like that were impossible. A man recreated himself after being diminished to atoms? Not likely, but possible. There was still matter present to manipulate. Dreams? Merely electrical byproducts of the brain. Adrian kept his focus on Daniel and the possibility that he may have snapped. Certainly nothing that would keep the Smartest Man on Earth from getting his proper eight hours of sleep.

Adrian was starting to think he had been stupid to ignore the man's claims.

Ozymandias jerked into a fighting position when a vase fell from its spot on a pedestal and shattered behind him. He was still in his house, and yet, he wasn't. It was as if someone had taken his house and drenched it in acid and let it sit for a hundred years. The colors were faded, the draperies and carpets split and torn, and everything had a tendency to collapse into dust when touched. It was clear he was in a dream, but Ozymandias couldn't remember the last time a dream had been this tactile.

And he certainly wished he had more to wear than his pajamas while wandering around it.

Adrian grimaced when his bare foot stepped in something unidentifiable on the carpet and sighed. It was wet and sticky and stuck to the bottom of his foot. The man pulled his foot up and was shocked to drag the floor up with him. Ozymandias narrowed his eyes as he watched the floor shift into some sort of viscous liquid. Adrian followed with a curse when the entire hallway floor changed into a similar substance and he found himself sinking.

Ozymandias moved his feet to try and escape the goop, but merely managed to fall to his knees in the muck. Part of his brain was intrigued by how such a liquid could support part of his weight while still retaining so many qualities of a liquid, but the other half of his brain was wondering how the hell to get out. Adrian dropped his hand into the substance and pulled it up for a closer inspection. "What an odd dream. This is surely Daniel's influence."

"He's had a lot of that lately."

Ozymandias froze in place at the sound of a new voice in the hall. He turned slightly to see a pair of shapely, bloodied legs in black pumps. Turning his eyes upward, he sucked in a slight breath at the site. "Laurie?"

"Dan's been a very bad boy." This 'Laurie' giggled before adjusting her red and green costume, clearly mimicking Silk Spectre's usual yellow and black ensemble. Her hair hung down low over her face, making it near impossible to see any features past the brunette strands. "Telling all his friends about, Freddy. You'd think he didn't appreciate the company."

Adrian had to turn around completely to follow her as Laurie ducked behind him, somehow walking on the surface of the liquid without sinking. Little ripples followed in her wake after each step. "Excuse me?"

"You're a smart, man, aren't you Ozzy?" Laurie smirked before turning her neck hard enough to throw her hair out of the way. She laughed when little Adrian recoiled from the sight of her burnt, disfigured face. "I think that you are."

"What is going on?" Adrian demanded as the figure before him shook momentarily, causing the vision of 'Laurie' to drip off into the melted floor below. What was left was a strange burnt man wearing a fedora and a red and green striped sweater. "Who are you?"

"You're the smart guy," Freddy chuckled before tapping the wall with the tip of his clawed index finger. "You tell me."

Ozymandias paused before staring at the man intently. "The best bet would be a fictional representation of this 'Fred Krueger' I'm dreaming up due to exposure to Daniel's stories and Laurie's passing."

"At least you got the name right." Fred chuckled. "But I'm no figment of your imagination, buddy." Freddy kicked up a section of the liquid floor towards Adrian and laughed when it splashed all over his clean face. "You don't have the brain power to think me up. In fact," Freddy paused. "Your brain looks a little heated from working too hard, why don't you let me help you cool off."

Ozymandias felt his stomach enter his chest when the support beneath him caved and gave way to nothing. Falling so suddenly didn't even give him the time to scream before he fell completely through the floor and into an ice bath of water below. Adrian gasped as he pulled himself to the side of the vat, thick fabric of his pajamas sticking to his skin with the weight of the water. He managed to drag himself up onto a platform and take in this new surrounding. "Where am I?"

"What's the matter, smart man?" Freddy spoke from behind the wet man. He laughed again when the hero turned with a swift kick towards his head. These 'heroes' were fun to mess with; they all fought back. "Don't you have the answers to everything?"

"No one has the answer to everything." Adrian snarled before pulling to his feet. "You will leave me be."

"Oh I will leave you," Freddy started before brandishing his clawed hand in the air. He watched and smiled as the other man slowly placed himself into a fighting pose. Oh, the fun he'd have today. "In pieces."

* * *

"You're that guy with the sign." Dan stared at the man shifting awkwardly in front of him. It was rude, but Dan pointed anyway. He knew this guy! Well, he didn't' know him personally but he was definitely familiar. "Outside the Gunga Diner. You hang around the news stand."

Rorschach was tense, confused and itching to run. This was not how the usual events occurred. Normally, it was Daniel out of costume and Rorschach in full gear. Or Rorschach watching Daniel from the side of the street unknown to his partner. The 'man with the sign' as Nite Owl put it, was not an alter ego. Oh no, just a disguise. Rorschach was the real face. Kovacs was dead.

But now Daniel was looking smack dab at him without his face as Kovacs and looked almost intrigued. Was this some sort of trick by Krueger? Or was that really Daniel standing across from him? And if it was Daniel, what was Rorschach supposed to do about it? If he talked, it's clear that Nite Owl would recognize his voice. And then the secret would be out. Rorschach hated he had to debate if that was a good or bad thing but he was sure there was a reason he never gave away his most useful disguise to his partner. It would probably bring about…_questions_.

Since the red head seemed content to merely glare, Dan was able to remember why he had rounded the corner in the first place. Laurie. Or Freddy disguised as Laurie. Whatever it was, Dan had been chasing her. However, it appeared as though she was long gone. "Damn." Nite Owl reached a hand up to bite at his knuckle before turning to the still staring red head. Maybe Freddy changed forms again? It was possible, but what benefit would he have turning into the homeless guy across from a diner Dan ate at? "You didn't happen to see which way a bloody woman ran did ya?" Dan snorted. "Not that you'd answer considering you're probably just some sort of illusion."

_A bloody woman?_ Rorschach raised an eyebrow before shoving his hand into his pocket. He missed his trench coat. Though, the more interesting part of that bit of dialogue was the second half. Daniel thought Rorschach was an illusion. Why would an illusion accuse another of being fake? Points for this being the real Daniel were starting to add up. Rorschach shook his head slowly to answer. In either case, he hadn't seen any women in this forsaken boiler room.

Dan nodded slowly and started to walk down the corridor. "Guess I'll have to keep looking then." Nite Owl paused however when he realized the red-headed man was following him. "Uh…what are you doing?"

Rorschach nearly rolled his eyes. What he was doing was obvious; Daniel should have asked _why_ he was being followed. Either way, Rorschach was now fully convinced that this was the real deal Nite Owl. Not even Krueger could fake that boy-ish look. "Coming with." Rorschach answered. He licked his lips awkwardly before quickly pursing his lips. He missed his Face much more than the coat. "Better as team."

Dan stared out right. As if today couldn't possibly get any weirder from being kissed by Freddy dressed up as Laurie's corpse. It wasn't muffled like usual, but Daniel knew that voice. Better than he knew that face. The sliver of disbelief still held though as he asked for clarification's sake. "Ror…Rorscach?"

"Stop staring, Daniel."

_Rorschach_. Dan snorted to himself before covering his face. Dan wasn't quite sure just how Rorschach got into his dream, but he was secretly glad he was there. "Well, looks like you get to help out after all."

"Suppose." Rorschach snorted as they started walking again. Rorschach's grip tightened and loosened on his pipe. He was waiting for Daniel to start asking the inevitable. "Still fell asleep at post. Not acceptable."

"Well, no one's perfect." Daniel muttered as his eyes slid to the side and took in the man walking next to him. It was definitely the same man who hung out in front of the Gunga Diner carrying that huge 'The End is Nigh' sign. Rorschach looked in his direction quickly before looking forward again. Rorschach was…nervous, almost. Dan had a sinking feeling in his gut he knew why. And suddenly Rorschach always stealing (Well, sort of. Daniel had already told the man he was welcome to anything in the kitchen when he was over. Daniel just hadn't expected him to take it so literally.) food from his house made a bit more sense. Though after a moment, Dan found himself chuckling.

Rorschach hunched up his shoulders a bit tighter as his partner laughed. Didn't think Daniel was the type to mock others on something as unimportant as looks. "What's so funny?"

"You, I think." Dan chuckled. "I just can't believe you really have an alter ego. I was flat out convinced at once point you never took off that mask." Dan paused to crawl over a fallen pipe that had landed in the way. "Or is this just some sort of Krueger trick messing with your appearance?"

"No," Rorschach admitted, but not without reservation. "This is real disguise."

"Disguise?" Nite Owl muttered to himself. "What do you mean?"

"Rorschach is Rorschach." The usually masked man answered. "Nothing without face. Just a disguise to walk around unnoticed."

Dan would have pressed further but Rorschach started to walk faster and soon passed him on the metal catwalk. His shoulders were tight and pace brisk which Dan recognized easily as the 'I don't want to talk about this anymore, Daniel – shut up' walk. Nite Owl couldn't help the chuckle and decided to help things along with a change of subject. He'd question the hell out of Rorschach later if they lived through the night. "Where do you think Freddy's hiding?"

"Don't know." Rorschach shrugged. "Haven't seen him in person. Just know he took," Rorschach grimaced having to call it this, "mask. Hurm, don't know."

"I think I saw him." Daniel sighed before rubbing his cheek and the blood there. Remembering just a few moments ago brought a blush to his face making it as red as the blood smear. "I think he was impersonating Laurie."

"Ms. Jupiter?"

"Yeah, she showed up covered in blood with her chest ripped open. Said I shouldn't cry and then ran off saying a friend wanted to play." Daniel looked over at Rorschach. He was someone new in the dream. "Maybe she meant you?"

"Possible." Rorschach nodded. "But can't conclude without further-"

A horrid shriek filled the entire boiler room.

"Rorschach."

"Right." No time for talk. Seems Krueger finally made a move and Rorschach kept up with Nite Owl easily as they started the sprint towards the horrid screaming. Seems they found just who Krueger went off to play with.


	6. Chapter 6

This chapter shouldn't have been as hard to write as it was. But we're getting towards the end now; especially if you're a Krueger fan - in which the ending will also seem familiar. Because let's face it; this really is the only way to get a stab in at Freddy. XD Anyway, thanks for reading and enjoy!

**Part VI**

Nite Owl's feet hit the metal with a loud clang that echoed through out the room, the sound doubled as Rorschach followed closely beside him. The screaming was sporadic at best, but still enough for them to try and figure out where it was coming from in this dreamscape of a nightmare. Though, the fact the sound carried over the steam and machinery was foreboding in itself. It pushed Nite Owl forward ever faster even as his legs burned with the effort. However, there was one thing still bothering Dan. "Do you recognize that voice, Rorschach?"

"Veidt." Or at least he was certain it was. Rorschach sighed to himself. He definitely recognized Veidt in the tone and sound of the screaming. Not that Rorschach had any clue what he was doing in the dream to begin with. First Daniel, then himself, then Ms. Jupiter and now Ozymandias? Was Krueger targeting the Watchmen in some way? Would the Comedian be the next victim to this hellish nightmare? Rorschach figured this was a trap, but they kept running. The two vigilantes agreed it was worth the risk to check for sure. Besides, this whole damn world was one big trap. "Need to hurry."

"Don't have to tell me twice, buddy." Nite Owl forced his legs to move just a little bit faster until they spilled over the side of a sudden cut off, rolling to lessen the fall. Dan made a note to visit an actual boiler room in a factory to get a grip on reality. Real industrial complexes could not possibly be this annoying and have this many turn offs and falls. Rorschach dropped to the ground effortlessly next to him and started staring in the distance.

Nite Owl stood from the ground and followed his partner's line of sight. He sucked in a breath when he realized there was no Krueger, but something worse lying there. Adrian Veidt, Ozymandias in shredded purple pajamas was on the ground moaning. Though it was the pool of blood around him that got Nite Owl's feet moving. Dan dashed as fast as he could to the other man to try and stop the bleeding.

Rorschach started to follow before stopping suddenly. His face was missing. Daniel knowing what he looked like was one thing, but something in his gut told him not to approach Ozymandias without it. Rorschach had always made a note to trust his gut. Besides, Nite Owl would be distracted playing medic. Someone needed to watch his back. "Nite Owl, go ahead. I'm going to scout the area."

"Okay!" Dan called over his shoulder without even looking. There was still no sign of Krueger just yet, so someone looking around for him was probably a good call. Knowing Rorschach could handle it and previous rage distracted by Adrian's need for medical attention put Nite Owl into full gear. He dropped to his knees and grabbed Adrian's face to pat his cheek. How could someone be unconscious in a dream? "Adrian! Wake up!" Eyes started to crack open and Dan shook his shoulder slightly. "Hey, stay with me!"

"Dan…" Adrian choked up for a moment. Well, it would only make sense that the cause of his dream should show up in it at one point or another. Adrian sucked in another breath to help his words come easier. "Daniel?"

"Yeah, need ya' to hold on for me. Okay, Adrian?" Nite Owl pressed the wet fabric of the ruined pajamas into the wounds tighter to try and quell the bleeding. If Ozymandias was bleeding this badly in real life, they may already be too late. "This is going to sound crazy, but I need you to wake up."

"Wake…up?" Adrian gasped as Daniel turned to rip at his cape to get something to wrap the wound. Would treating injuries in the dream have any effect? Or was it pointless? Nite Owl took a steady breath. "Yeah, you're in a dream, Adrian."

"Dreams can not hurt you." Adrian struggled to sit up. Where on earth was Krueger? He was here just a moment ago fighting like a demon unleashed. Krueger vanishing in midair was only more proof that his surroundings were an elaborate fabrication. "This is merely a by-product of my mind creating the sensation of pain."

"Uh, no." Nite Owl huffed and cursed the man's brain. If he had been just a bit less intelligent he might actually be able to accept what was going on. "It's real and you need to wake up. Now."

"And how," He gasped when Nite Owl shifted his grip on the open wound. Ozymandias sucked in a breath and tried to cover the pain with a quick breath. "Do I do that?"

Dan stared as he tried to quell the bleeding. He'd actually been hoping the genius would have this covered. Surely he knew how to wake himself up? "I don't know."

* * *

Rorschach gripped his metal pipe tightly as he walked the perimeter of the room. Ozymandias was distracted with Nite Owl and had yet to notice his presence. All for the better, really. Never liked the man. Too much talk. Rorschach had better things to be on the look out for –such as a burnt man who had been moments ago torturing the smartest man on the planet. A man who was quite absent the moment he and Nite Owl arrived.

The room had trap written all over it. If it'd been tangible, it would have been written in bright red.

Rorschach pulled a sweaty hand up to his face and rubbed the rough stubble under his fingers. There had be something they were all missing about this Krueger. Nothing was all powerful. Everything had a weakness somewhere and they needed to find it. And soon. A short yelp from the other side of the room caused Rorschach to turn towards his partner. Nite Owl was trying to rewrap wounds and must have done something wrong. Nite Owl was apologizing and Ozymandias growling. Otherwise, they were fine. Rorschach nodded and kept moving.

Rorschach stopped a good twenty or so feet farther away and decided that this was far enough. Too much distance between them and Rorschach wouldn't be able to assist if needed. Turning back around to rejoin with his partner, Rorschach froze as he was met with a solid wall. He pursed his lips and tapped a knuckle on the concrete to try and judge the density.

Dreamscape. Easily manipulated to the dreamer's will. Unfortunately for Rorschach, he wasn't quite sure whose dream this was for all of them to be in the same place. Made it difficult. Krueger was smart. But Rorschach was stubborn. Raising his metal pipe, Rorschach swung it down into the wall as hard as he could to test how much damage. The wall remained pristine (save for the stains and pock marks originally invested in the worn looking wall) and undamaged. He'd need another way around it and back to Daniel.

"You guys don't know when to quit, do ya'?" Freddy chuckled as he breathed over the red head's shoulder.

Rorschach stiffened for a moment before letting out his usual growl and dived for the man. His attempt was to throw him over the shoulder and against all odds he did so. Krueger hadn't even dodged; just allowed himself to be lifted and thrown in the opposite direction of Nite Owl and Ozymandias. Watched the man slide on the ground and smack into the wall. Fell like a rag doll. Rorschach growled and took up a defensive position. Had to buy time for the wounds to be wrapped. "Never give up. Injustice must be punished." Rorschach growled. "No compromise."

Krueger laughed from his place on the ground back flat to the surface of warm, scolding metal. The angry ones were always so much fun to play with. "And what injustice did I commit?"

"Injured Daniel. Killed Ms. Jupiter." Rorschach's teeth were ground together audibly as his fists clenched. "Violated personal space."

Krueger smirked. "Speaking, I have some personal space I need to violate right now. I was interrupted and there's a certain little rich boy who still has his spleen."

"Running?" Rorschach taunted and tapped the metal pipe against his leg. The red head tilted his head and pulled a small smirk at the corner of his chapped lips. "Coward?"

"No, Mr. Kovacs, not running." Krueger smirked before leaning against a wall. Freddy _had_ noticed the twitch from using the vigilante's real name. "Just not your turn yet."

Rorschach made a dive when the burnt man started to phase through the wall. He slammed into it with a jolt and realized he was too late. Rorschach's fist found it self smacking the wall with a sickening thud. "Dammit!"

The vigilante needed to get back to partner and Veidt. Soon. Rorschach bit his lip and turned around looking for an entrance. He needed to get out of this section and retrace his steps. Hopefully these different sections of Krueger's playpen were connected in some fashion. Though, it was doubtful Krueger had left him an opening but he'd take what he could get. Rorschach took a quick turn and cursed when something caught his foot and he smacked into the ground, his head hitting first. Rorschach groaned getting ready to pull himself to his feet as soon as he opened his eyes-

Or would if he wasn't suddenly staring at the ceiling of Nite Owl's lair ceiling.

Rorschach looked to the side stunned as he saw the familiar brick of the lair walls. Rorschach sat up and realized he had, well, woken up. Daniel was sleeping next to him, strangely calm considering he was currently treating Veidt. Rorschach frowned and wondered what could have possibly woken up when his eyes zeroed in on the tool box that had been next to his cot that was now at an odd angle. He must have jerked in his sleep when he fell.

Rorschach reached up to check for a bump or sign of impact on his head and frozen when he felt it. Pulling his hand flat over his cheek caused him to sign in relief at the feel of familiar fabric ghosting beneath his fingers. The comfort was short lived however when he remembered that his partner was still fighting and Veidt still in the process of dying.

Unless someone woke up him first.

* * *

"I'd suggest pinching yourself but pain clearly isn't working!" Dan yelled as he punched the giant snake in the forehead. Freddy was getting more creative in his dream attacks. No sooner as he started brainstorming on ways for Veidt to wake up and get real medical attention, the room was filled with snakes whose width was the same as Dan's waist. Needless to say he'd suddenly found himself busy defending the man on the ground. "Try willing yourself to wake up!"

"If that worked," Veidt kicked at a smaller snake that had slithered in with the bunch. Adrian grabbed his waist with a grunt as the pain shot through his spine. Adrenaline was clearly not working as it should in a dream and it was becoming a bit o fa bother, to put it lightly. They had been fighting off these snakes for at least an hour by now. He wasn't sure how Dan was still moving. "I'd be awake by now!"

"And it's not like I'd let that happen anyway." Freddy laughed as he dove down into the room from the upper balcony. His little playmates were ready for a nap. "Having fun with your _hiss_y fit?"

"Ha ha, very funny." Dan griped back as dodged another snake. He almost missed dodging knives compared to fangs. "Finally get bored of just watching?"

"No, I never get tired of that." Krueger waved his hand and sent about ten more snakes in the little Owl's direction. "Right now, I just want to cut down the number of toys. Too many spoils the kid ya' know."

Nite Owl's eyes widened as he saw Krueger start stalking towards Veidt on the ground. He swung his arms around the closest snake and tried to pry it off him. He needed to get to Ozymandias right now! "Hey!" His voice was hoarse as he shouted. "Stay away from him!"

"Make me, fly boy." Krueger smiled as he stood over the blonde on the ground. It was about time his favorite little victim saw someone say good_night_ for real. He lifted the man off the ground and laughed as the man started to struggle and grope and rip at his favorite striped sweater.

"Release me!" Veidt screamed and grabbed a fistful of fabric and yanked as hard as he could to try and release the grip from his outfit. The fabric teared, but the flesh refused to move. He was shaken hard before he could get a new grip on Krueger's wrist for a more effective strategy and he lost his grip, only a clump of fabric in his hand as proof he ever had a grip at all.

Krueger smirked and raised up his clawed hand for the strike. "Ready to say good night, buddy?"

"Stay-" Dan's voice cut off suddenly and both Krueger and Nite Owl stared at the empty space where Veidt had disappeared in thin air. Nite Owl fell over when the snake he was trying to strangle disappeared and he too hit the ground. Nite Owl guessed Krueger was too distracted to keep up the snake act. Dan filed that information away for later; Freddy DID have to think about these things to make them happen. Though, Nite Owl's knees were ready to kill him after all this maltreatment hitting concrete.

"DAMMIT! He was MINE!" Krueger kicked at the ground. This was not how things were supposed to work out. He was supposed to have more time. Freddy huffed out a breath and turned to Nite Owl. "Seems you're the only one left to play."

Nite Owl took a few steps back and put his fists up. Heroes were supposed to be prepared for anything, but 'anything' took on an entirely new meaning in this place. Where the hell was Rorschach when he needed him? "Guess so."

"Then let's get start-" Freddy stopped mid threat when the Owl disappeared right before his eyes in the same fashion as the smart guy. He stomped the ground again and smirked. This was okay. He had plenty of time. Freddy licked his lips and tapped a claw on his leg. They had to go back to sleep sometime.

* * *

Dan groaned as he held his head. Rorschach was standing next to him in that irritatingly blasé way as if he didn't just knock his best friend in the head. "Did you have to hit me?"

Rorschach shrugged. "Fastest way."

"I guess." Dan reached up to remove his goggles and rubbed at the indent marks they made under his eyes. Around him were clean, painted walls and under him was a rather stiff chair. "Where are we?"

"Veidt's room." Rorschach answered and handed Dan a cup of coffee. He then pointed to the bed in the room where Veidt was watching them with hooded eyes and a frown. "Still alive."

"Adrian, good." Nite Owl sighed. "How are your wounds?"

"Very convincing." Adrian answered slowly. While fingering the quickly applied bandages. Rorschach had only taken enough time to throw them at him before rushing to wake up Daniel. "It gives, weight, to your story."

"Yeah." Dan nodded before looking to the side at Rorschach. "Uh, how'd I get here?"

"Carried." Rorschach answered as if it was nothing out of the ordinary to carry his friend. Dan was looking at him with a disbelieving face and he snorted. "Carried to Archimedes. Flew. Carried off Archimedes."

"Ah, okay. Thank-you." Dan took a swig of coffee and once again wondered how anyone lived without it. "So, I guess this means we need a new game plan."

Rorschach nodded. "Current efforts not working. Weakness hard to decipher on his playing field."

"If I may." Veidt interrupted. And pushed himself up onto this elbows and grabbed the back of his bed's headboard. "I think we should even the playing field then."

"And how do we do that?" Dan asked as both he and Rorschach looked at the now smiling man, looking as smug as he always does despite being covered in bandages.

Adrian pulled his hand out from under the blanket and held up a scrap of familiar red and green. His smile widened when both Rorschach and Nite Owl recognized it. He may only have been playing this game for a few hours, but Adrian wasn't the smartest man on the planet for nothing. He was nothing if not adept at adaption. "We make him play by our rules."


	7. Chapter 7

About time, right? XD Well, my Watchmen muse had left me, and now she's back. Full force (I blame Rorschach & Nite Owl II. needs more of them. *noms*) I'm itching to get this thing done and out of the way - So let's get back to the horror, shall we?

**Chapter 7**

If a piece of fabric could be brought from the dream, it stood to reason that Krueger himself could also be yanked out by the scruff of his neck and disciplined like so many other citizens who broke the law. Adrian had put together a plan near the instant he realized the previous statement to be true. Only half a day later and he had all involved parties in a meeting room with plush office chairs awaiting further instruction. "We will make sure to synchronize our watches and at the designated time make sure someone has a hold of Krueger for when the timer goes off."

"And then you'll wake us all up, correct?" Nite Owl confirmed and crossed his arms, muscles tense. "If the plan goes as it's supposed to, at least one of us should drag Krueger out of the dream and into our world."

"To face justice." Rorschach added, the sound of leather stretching and tightening as the small man's fists gripped in his gloves. His back itched from the scabs scratching up against his shirt from Krueger's previous message. He was going to break a bone for every single mark.

"Yeah." Nite Owl swallowed, slightly nervous at his partner's anger. "And for once, I don't think I'm going to comment on your particular brand of justice, buddy."

"Wouldn't have listened anyway."

Ozymandias coughed into his hand before checking his watch. There was one more unpredictable element that might make an appearance yet and he wanted time. "Alright, enough banter." Adrian shook his head and handed out a new set of watches to get instructions to the more prepared members of this party. "I've already synchronized these for you, so just make sure you pay attention to the time."

"Who's that one for?" Dan pointed to the extra watch in Ozymandias' hand even after the smartest man in the world had put his own time piece on his wrist. "There's only the three of us, right?"

"Wrong." The door to the conference room burst open with a kick. Cigar smoke filled the room along with some heavier emotion. "Three are going in while Ozy sits and watches."

"Comedian?" Dan jerked slightly. Was the sleep deprivation causing him to hallucinate now? There was no way the Comedian was here and willing to help of his own will. "What are you doing here?"

Ed tilted his head to the side slightly and licked his lip. "Sally finally pulled herself together enough to call and tell me about Laurie." He shook his head and muttered something about not even getting to see the kid's funeral before taking a deep breath. "Called Adrian over there to find out what the hell happened since Sally was too busy sobbing for details." The Comedian cracked his head to the side and rolled his shoulders. The Comedian had done a lot of 'unforgivable' things in his life, but this…he couldn't forgive this. "I don't believe any of it, but the bastard that hurt her is going down even if I have to sit here and be crazy with the rest of you."

Rorschach heard the slight crack in the Comedian's voice. More affected by Ms. Jupiter's death than anyone could have guessed. Interesting. Rorschach made a note for further investigation after Krueger's face was smeared into the pavement. "Agreed."

"Wonderful." Adrian tossed a watch towards Blake and secretly wished the man was pummeled in the dream. Never did care for the man in any way shape or form, but who was Ozymandias to deny a father rights to revenge? "You have twenty minutes to locate Krueger and keep a grip on him. Understood?"

"Got it." Nite Owl leant back in his chair, hand set on the timer ready to go. Rorschach sat down beside him and the Comedian plopped to his other side. It was amazing how having a real team boosted one's confidence even while under the pangs of exhaustion. "Did Adrian explain what we were doing?"

"Fall asleep. Beat the crap out of anyone with burnt skin and wearin' a bad sweater." Comedian sucked on his cigar and gripped the arm chair tightly. "Not complicated."

"Start your timers on my mark." Adrian held his watch up and waited. "Then fall asleep as quickly as possible. We've got a limit before he figures out what we're doing." A set of nods followed. "Ready." A click and a tiny beep sounded as Ozymandias started the watch. "Go."

* * *

Rorschach was the first to fall asleep. He had plenty of practicing forcing himself to sleep in the past when he only had an hour or two to spare. Spending twenty minutes trying to get to sleep was a waste of time. The vigilante threw a hand up to his face and almost sighed in relief when he felt the smooth fabric covering the blotchy red skin. Seems Krueger hadn't gotten the desired reaction from taking face the first time. Rorschach hid the relief.

"Krueger!" He shouted hoarsely into the dark area before him. There was just enough light to reveal he was in a house of some sort. A two story, suburban home with carpet on the floors. It was old, in disrepair; reminded Rorschach of Daniel's home. A quick glance out a window from a bedroom confirmed second story. Room smelled of dust and decaying wood. Rorschach grunted. "Come out!"

Silence reigned, save for the slight creaking of floorboards beneath his own weighted shoes. Rorschach moved forward hoping the other two would arrive soon. Needed the distraction of three minds to keep Krueger busy. Rorschach came to a halt when he heard the sound of giggling. The masked man slowed his steps as he neared a bedroom door. The door was cracked open just enough to see inside.

Rorschach swallowed at the site of two young girls dressed in white. They were skipping rope, eyes focused on the masked man standing just outside their door. Creepy. Rorschach moved slowly out of view and past the room. Distraction. Children were not real. Had mission. Rorschach opened his mouth again to call out yet again. "Krueger!"

"Do you have any volume between silent whispers and grunted screaming, buddy?" A familiar voice chuckled from behind. "I'm starting to think you don't know how to talk at an audible level without screaming. It's quite annoying sometimes, you know, especially when we're trying to have a conversation." There was a pause and the slight metallic sound of glasses being adjusted. "Not that we ever have any decent ones, being the wonderful conversationist you are."

Rorschach turned slowly towards the other end of the hallway. Daniel stood at the end of it, out of uniform in khaki pants and a red and green striped sweater, smiling and head tilted. Collar of dress shirt was hanging out and connected with a familiar tie Rorschach had seen him wear more than once. Hair was messy, posture slouched, and the window created a glare on the glasses preventing Rorschach from seeing man's eyes. No mistake this time. "Krueger."

"Aw, isn't that sweet?" The impostor Daniel smirked and placed his hands casually in his front pants pockets. "You know him well enough to spot a fake instantly." A shrug of disinterest followed. "How cute."

"Partners." Rorschach grunted and made a running start. There was still time on the clock for him to beat Kruger's face in before they yanked him out of here. "Need to know these things."

The grinning Daniel took the punch to the cheek like a sport and hit the ground like a leaded weight. Almost laughed when the kick came to his side immediately after. Did laugh when a shoe met with his face two and three more times. Glasses and ribs cracked alike as this pit bull of a man wailed into the unresisting body. Still wearing Daniel's face, Krueger spit a mouthful of blood to the side. "Wow, don't even hold back for friends, do you?"

"Not friend." Rorschach grabbed the ugly sweater and yanked a strangely passive Krueger to his feet. The monster was plotting something. "Just stolen his face."

"Which you have no problem punching in." Dan answered with a distorted grin, teeth missing and glasses skewed. A hand reached up and placed itself over Rorschach's, fingers rubbed the knuckles through the leather. "Doesn't it bother you even a little bit to see your friend broken and beaten?"

"Daniel's fine." Rorschach would not be deterred by such things. Justice over powered any hurt he might have associating this sort of beat down with his friend. Knowing friend's twisted sense of humor, he might even find this funny. Besides, it was impossible. Rorschach would never hurt Daniel. "But you won't be."

"That so?"

Rorschach's head whipped around behind him to stare at the man standing behind him. Red and Green sweater, fedora on head, and skin burnt, peeling. Rorschach's hands tightened around the fabric they were holding and the body that seemed heavier by the second. Rorschach couldn't bring himself to look down; wondered why there was still something in his hands with Freddy across the room. "Krueger?"

"Have I mentioned yet, just how much power I have in your head?" Krueger chuckled and raised a clawed hand to wiggle his fingers, light dancing on the blades. A single one separated from the rest to point at Rorschach's hands. "And you really outta' look at your friend there. He might need help."

Rorschach jerked his head down to look at the limp body hanging from his hands and felt his own face start twitching when he caught a glance at those familiar goggles, now cracked beyond repair.

* * *

The Comedian heard Rorschach's guttural wail from the first floor of the house. The older man had wondered if he was even in the right place when he opened his eyes to some family's happy little home (granted it was covered in dust, but to each his own), but now he knew he was in the right place. Edward Blake knew the freak he would find here was a monster for killing Laurie, but he had to be even worse to make Rorschach lose his cool that way. The Comedian yanked a shotgun over his shoulder and leapt up the stairs two steps at a time.

The top of the stairs was quiet and empty save for some sort of moisture in the air making the area seem humid and warm. Having spent plenty of time in unbearable conditions already, the Comedian barely noticed. Edward cocked the gun with a deafening click and spoke around the cigar in his mouth. Time to get this party started. He walked slowly, cigar shoved to the side of his mouth and eyes constantly searching for any movement. "Knock, knock."

"Who's there?" A little girl's voice echoed in the room.

Blake looked up to see a small girl in a white dress standing at the end of the hallway. Her body was covered in blood and her hair was matted. She was twirling side to side holding her dress up slightly to reveal her knees. The skin was missing and he could see the bone underneath. Looks like they weren't kidding about that Krueger guy changing forms. "The Comedian."

"The Comedian, who?"

"Sorry," The man smiled and aimed his gun at the strange kid and put his finger on the trigger. Blake felt his mouth stretch even wider with the grin. "Forgot the joke."

The bullet burst from the gun and into the little girl's throat, dropping her dead to the ground.

* * *

Dan was spinning. Or not. Felt like it. He heard a voice calling his name over and over. Sounded panicked but his whole body felt too numb to care or notice. Dan couldn't remember the last time he had felt this way. Something about a gang fight came to mind, but Dan was sure even that wasn't this bad. Dan grunted and shifted slightly before realizing why it was still so dark everywhere. His eyes opened and could only see cracks spread out over a dark surface. Dan couldn't tell if they were from his goggles or the ceiling. His shoulder shook harder this time and Dan forced up a cough.

"Daniel!"

_What happened?_ Dan groaned and shifted before his hand smacked into his face on reflex. Nite Owl hissed and shot up at the pain that laced through his body. The adrenaline did its part and woke him up to his surroundings. Daniel tried to remember why his face felt like it had gone through a blender and his stomach felt nauseous. "Ug."

"Daniel." Rorschach gripped Nite Owl's shoulders and tried to get the man to look at him. Had done a number on what he thought was a fake. Could be any number of problems from concussion to broken jaw. Guilt was creeping up along his spine and dancing over the scars there, but Rorschach could feel guilty later. Once he had made sure his friend would be alright. "Daniel. No time, need to wake up, Daniel."

"Rorschach?" Dan forced the name out of his mouth and turned to his friend. Friend. That's right. Nite Owl took in a breath. He had fallen asleep and woke in the hallway. He saw Rorschach and called out to him and- "Why did you beat me up?"

"Thought was Krueger." Rorschach bit his lip under his mask. Daniel's face was bruised and bloody under the mask. Probably was worse than it looked. "Used mind trick."

"Oh. Okay." Nite Owl was still too out of it to be mad just yet. He was sure he'd find some reason to yell at Rorschach later, but right now he just needed to get up and take stock of the damage. Dan tried to push to his feet but found the world spinning a bit and memories of fists coming at his face for no reason came to the front of his mind. Thankfully, Rorschach was there to catch him on the shoulder. "No problem then."

The masked man grunted slightly and shifted his hold on Nite Owl to keep him on his feet. Rorschach decided to leave out the part where Krueger had used Daniel's form as the illusion. No need to give the man more ammunition when he finally came back around to coherency. "Time is running out."

Dan groped at his goggles to pull them down around his neck. He squinted in the dark room and leaned more heavily on Rorschach's shoulder. "What happened to Krueger?"

"Don't know. Left." Rorschach looked around noticing they were alone for the first time. Didn't make sense. Logic would cause enemy to take out prey while they were down. Rorschach disliked things that played with their victims. The urge to beat the crap out of Krueger was growing larger by every second. "Probably went to find Comedian."

Nite Owl straightened up and let out a short breath. Untangling himself from Rorschach, Dan found he could stand on his own again. He looked down at his watch and over to his partner, face now in a determined line. "We should find him, too."

"Agreed."

* * *

The Comedian strolled up to the corpse on the ground and got a good look at it. He was no stranger to killing kids, to most peoples' disgust, so he wasn't sure what that mad man thought he would accomplish by taking the form of one. Blake snorted at the cutesy white dress and the brown hair as he kicked the body over to see the face. Edward dropped his gun. "Laurie."

Laurie's lifeless eyes gazed up at him from the floor. It was his baby girl, dressed in a stranger's clothing. Blake felt his eyes start to burn with the threat of tears. Blood was smeared unnaturally on her face and hands from something other than a bullet. The body looks staged and The Comedian felt his teeth clench together. Was this how she looked when everyone found her killed in the bedroom? Was this on the crime scene photos Sally refused to let him see? The Comedian let out a snarl that could rival Rorschach on any day. "KRUEGER!"

"Ah, is the daddy mad I killed his baby girl?" Freddy snickered suddenly popping in front of the enraged bull of a man, invading yet another crime fighter's personal space. Though, unlike the man in the black and white mask, The Comedian showed no sign of discomfort at the proximity. Krueger smirked seeing that familiar passion in the man's eyes behind that ugly domino mask. "Previous generations felt burning me alive was a good form of retribution for this particular grievance." Freddy yanked the stunned man's cigar from his lips. "And you are fond of flame throwers aren't ya?"

"What the hell?" The Comedian threw a punch forward and the scarred man in front of him dodge. Blake snarled and threw another punch. Missed. "What's your game?"

"Nothing." Freddy grinned as he skipped a few feet back from the near-foaming man. He twirled a claw once before reaching behind himself to pull a giant flamethrower off his back. It was about time he got some real payback for idiot parents who can't get over their screaming offspring. "It's my turn to heat things up."

The Comedian dodged to the side when the stream of flames burst from the mechanism the freak was holding and covered his head. Well that was just perfect, wasn't it? Not to be outdone, Blake low crawled under the flames towards a man he'd only met once but knew without a shadow of a doubt he wanted to kill. Comedian rolled to the side when Krueger aimed the weapon at him and rolled forward to kick the man in the kneecaps.

Freddy stumbled a bit with a laugh, but stayed up right. The dad-fellow was persistent however when he pushed up and tackled the man with the flamethrower from the side. "Nice take-down," Freddy smirked from the floor. "But I think you wanted a pass."

Comedian jerked when the flame thrower was shoved into his arms with enough force to crack a rib when metal collided with bone even through the armor. Using the football metaphor as a guide, The Comedian shoved himself towards the man shoving the weapon into his chest and pretended it was one of those tackle-dummies they used to use in practice. One foot in front of the other kept the momentum until adrenaline alone shoved both flamethrower and man out of his way and onto the floor. His breath was heavy, but happy at the tiny victory.

A beep on his watch sounded in the room and The Comedian realized his time was counting down. He stalked towards his prey on the ground ready to pound into this freak with his fists.

Freddy was laughing the second he hit the floor and jumped back to his feet gracefully as the other man approached. He faked wiping dust off his sleeve just to be petty. "Best you got, tough guy?"

"Nope." The Comedian grinned suddenly, similar to the cat-eating the canary grin he always got on his face when things went his way. He held up his hand and mimed his hand into the shape of a gun; lifted his hand up mimicking the recoil of a hand gun. He almost mouthed the _bang._ "I got him."

"What?" Freddy lifted an eyebrow when the man with the smiley face pin disappeared from the dream with a blink. He growled to himself wondering who the hell woke the bastard up and stopped all his fun yet again. Though, it was the animalistic snarl sounding loudly in the hallway that made his eyes widen.

Rorschach tackled Krueger from behind with enough force to snap a spine. They both hit the ground at the same time just as everything went white.


	8. Chapter 8

Must…finish this…started another Ror/Dan fic and want to post it…. *tortures self* Moving on. We're really close to that ending. Ten should be the last chapter with possibly an epilogue. XD I hope. (Oh…and please don't hate me...This is the horror genre! *hides*) Either way, I'm excited because I got my favorite Freddy moment from the movies into this fic~ Hee hee. *hugs source material*

Oh, and I upped the rating….I re-evaluated the level of violence that's been in this thing and decided it might be best to play it safe. XD

**Chapter 8**

Adrian wasn't sure what he was expecting when he woke up the Comedian. The man had been tossing and turning more than the others, personal feelings aside, he had woken him first (and ahead of schedule) to be safe. They really couldn't leave things to chance with so much at stake. The Comedian leapt from the chair and exclaimed something along the lines of "Ink-boy's got 'em!" before roughly shoving Adrian out of the way and shaking Rorschach's shoulders. Ozymandias braced himself for what he hoped would be a quick battle.

Dan sat forgotten in his chair now pushed to the side as the Comedian put his focus on Rorschach. No one noticed the slight trails of blood pooling under his mask.

Adrian had to move back and out of the way when Rorschach burst out of his chair in a position that mimicked a tackle and watched in odd fascination as a body materialized in his grip with a weird flash of light as they hit the floor together. There was no mistaking the man groaning on the ground in dyed wool and with metal fingers clinking and shrieking together from the impact and disorientation. Krueger continued to write under Rorschach and Adrian turned to the more brutal of the two. "Comedian!"

"Don't have to tell me twice." Blake grinned as he pulled Rorschach up and went for the man's collar himself. The Comedian felt he had dibs on the man. After all, Dan was just hurt. His Laurie was dead. Surely Rorschach would get his priorities straight. "I'm going to turn him inside out."

Rorschach steadied himself on his feet and took in the surroundings of Veidt's conference room. His eyes darted to the sound of a raspy chuckle responding to the Comedian's fist landing in his face. Rorschach smiled under his mask when he saw that the blood pooling from man's nose had yet to heal. No more cheating. Time for their game; their rules. Rorschach stalked towards his prey, fully ready to administer justice. "Krueger."

Freddy looked up in time to see a foot slam into the side of his head, pressing face into the carpet. The heel of the foot jammed itself deftly into his hear and did its best to merge burnt, flaking skin with the rough carpet. "Tryin' to give me rug burns?"

"Or worse." Blake snorted and delivered a kick himself, but this time to the man's side. Krueger grunted and Blake hit him with the heel of his boot. He continued accenting each of his future words with a kick of the heel. "Just trust it's gonna' be slow."

Adrian held back and let the bruisers do their work. It seems Fredrick Krueger's powers were exponentially hindered in the real world. He was nothing more than an average citizen now. Comedian and Rorschach together were overkill all on their own without his own personal aid. "Don't make it too long. I'd rather end this sooner than later."

"Aw, but what fun is that?" Blake snarled viciously as he dropped the butt of his gun into the small of Krueger's back. The man under him jerked from the motion (head remaining trapped by Rorschach's foot) that followed with a groan and the sound of fingers scraping on the carpet. Eddy dropped the gun onto a hand this time and smiled at the sound of bone crushing. "This bastard doesn't deserve anything quick."

"Rich coming from you." Freddy chuckled, voice muffled by the carpet and broken teeth. "I think you've done worse. It's not like you haven't killed kids before."

Rorschach was unprepared from the monstrous growl and movement that came from the Comedian as he lurched down and yanked Krueger's body up. The masked man stumbled back from losing his footstool and was steadied (to his great disgust) by Veidt putting a hand to his back. His only consolation was that he hadn't fallen. "Fine."

"Suit yourself." Adrian shrugged and stepped away from Rorschach. The man was covered in blood anyway and Adrian stared in disgust at the red stains now on his hand. "Keep your temper, Comedian."

"Temper?" Blake chuckled. "I haven't lost my tempter." He punched Freddy and loved the feeling of blood soaking his knuckles. "I'm in great spirits."

Krueger took each hit with an ever increasing desperation to get out of the man's grip. He could handle pain just fine, but the longer he stayed away from the dream, the harder it would be to heal from all this damage. He searched the room looking for an out before he spotted the slumped figure off to the side. Looked like Krueger was going to get two birds with a single owl. "Bingo."

The Comedian stopped his assault and stared at the strange exclamation. "Bingo?"

"Was his name-o." Freddy finished before pulling both feet up to his waist and shoving them forward into Eddy's gut. The move had worked and Blake was forced to release his pray as he toppled backwards over a chair. Freddy hit the ground with a practiced sprint, but not before turning around to give a quick salute. "See-ya, fellas!"

Rorschach was momentarily frozen when he realized where Krueger was headed. "NO!"

They had been far too close together, Adrian mourned in his head. This was something he should not have overlooked. He, together with the other two, turned on their feet to try and grab Krueger before he could hit his target. Adrian cursed aloud when Krueger slammed into Nite Owl, a move disgustingly similar to how Rorschach had dragged him _out_ of the dream world. The man disappeared with a hideous laugh as both bodies smacked into the ground.

Dan's head had made a sickening crunch upon impact.

"Nite Owl!" Rorschach sucked in a breath and dashed to his (only) friend. He got his hands to cradle the man's head before Daniel choked up a mouthful of blood, splattering the red liquid over the two of them like a busted sink pipe. Even that had yet to wake the man beneath him, still broken and beaten from Rorschach's own hands earlier. Walter began to panic. "No. No. No! Stupid! Wake up!"

Adrian watched on with a continuing fascination as Dan bled out onto the floor, Rorschach shaking and clutching at the body in a desperate attempt to wake the man up. The Comedian walked up beside him and snorted quietly rubbing his nose. He knew it, too. Probably from experience instead of Ozymandias' own intelligent reasoning. Adrian reached up and plucked his golden imitation of a laurel wreath and removed it from his head. "It's too late, Rorschach."

"NO!" Rorschach roared back and gripped tighter at Daniel's shoulders. Daniel would _not_ die. Nite Owl was stronger than that. Blood coated his hands as it poured out from Daniel's chest, mouth and shoulders. New cuts appearing even as he did his best to still the flow. Large patch of red forming around Daniel's torso. Rorschach was finding himself closer and closer to hysterics beneath the anger. "Wake up!"

* * *

Dan hurt. Everywhere. He had been leaning up against a hallway side table when Rorschach, the Comedian and Krueger vanished together. He thought the pain would go away with Krueger, but apparently Rorschach's handy work was here to stay. Dan had a sudden empathy for any person who had ever gotten on his buddy's bad side and made a note to never cross Rorschach on his own either. Daniel reached up to shove his goggles and cowl off his face and to get more breathing room. A mirror in the hallway displayed a couple missing teeth and the plethora of yellow and purple bruises.

_Adrian must have woken up the others._ Dan realized to himself and he pressed fingers tentatively to his wounds examining the damage. The teeth were going to be replaced. The lack of Krueger or any other presence but an old, dilapidated family home to keep him company, reassured Dan part-way. The other half wondered why he wasn't awake himself. Dan leant against the wall and wondered how long it would take to bring Krueger down for good.

Fingers drummed along the wooden table top and Dan frowned to himself as he waited. It was impossible to tell how much or how little time was passing in this world even with the watch on his wrist. For all he knew it wasn't even working and Adrian had just gotten lucky with his timing. Dan was still upset at least one of them hadn't thought to wake him up as well. They all three couldn't possibly be needed for the fight though…unless Krueger still had his powers. Dan turned back around to face the mirror and slammed a fist into it. The lack of information combined with the ache and pain of his injuries was creating a frustration he didn't need right now.

"Wake up." Dan ordered himself in the mirror. He needed to help his friends. The room remained unchanged. Dan tried again. "Wake. Up." And again. Mind had to be stronger than matter. "Wake up." Dan was shouting this final time, voice hoarse. "WAKE UP!"

"Let me help you with that."

Dan looked down slowly, breath speeding up to a state of hyperventilating, and stared at twisting metal claws, spreading out from under the skin of his belly. It had cut through his torso so cleanly, Dan hadn't even felt the impact. He could feel the blood rushing up to his throat and pouring out of both mouth and wound to the ground. It reminded him of a thick, syrupy wine that had been served at an ornithology convention. Dan opened his mouth and a trickle of blood escaped past his lips. "Hell."

"Been there." Freddy yanked his hand out and flicked the drops of blood on the carpet. The birdie stumbled forward into the desk, gasping. "Kinda' boring. Hot. Got a nice tan though.." Freddy jerked his hand out, claws forward, and ripped into the man's shoulder to yank him back. Danny fell flat on his back and choked up a burst of blood that splattered all over his chest and Freddy's shoes. "And now I'm done playing."

Dan tried to form a coherent retort or sentence or even a proper scream against the agony he was feeling, but failed to make any noise but gurgling and some sort of moan. He tried to jerk away when Freddy dropped down to straddle his waist, hands now framing his face on the floor. The position was close; intimate. It stirred a sickening feeling in Dan's gut even through the pain and blood loss. Freddy's breath smelled strongly of burning flesh even through the iron-rich, blood soaked room. Dan rasped a small "Get off" before cutting himself off with a cough.

"No, it's time for you to get off this train. But don't worry." Freddy pat Dan's cheek lightly with clawed fingers, relishing in the feel of a warm, dying body between his thighs. It was about time things went his way again. Freddy grabbed the man's throat with his hand and prepared to push the man out of the dream. As much as he'd like to watch, the satisfaction of this man dying in that bastard's arms was even better a treat. "It's not you I'm pissed at. Say hello to your buddy for me before ya' decide to meet up with your girl-toy."

Dan screamed.

* * *

Rorschach nearly dropped the body when Daniel's voice came suddenly from nowhere in a blood curdling shriek. "Daniel!"

The thrashing lasted only for the few seconds what pitiful amount of adrenaline left would allow before Dan stilled, breath heavy and weighted on his chest. The incandescent orange light above him hurt his eyes. It was soon covered by a familiar black and white face, ink swirling. Daniel had never been so happy to see that damn mask in his life. "Ror…schach."

"Daniel." Rorschach grasped Daniel's cheeks gently and shifted his hands down to support the man's neck, fingers wrapping gentle around the weakly pulsing veins. There was too much blood gone. _Too much._ Rorschach was shaking too much in comparison to his friend's still body. "Daniel. Breathe."

"Hurts." Dan smiled, despite it all. Rorschach was freaking out. It was sort of funny. He grinned, missing teeth and all, up at Rorschach. "Not as much as when you hit me, though."

Daniel was joking. _Joking._ Rorschach nearly hit him for good measure. "Not funny."

Dan winced. Rorschach's mask was getting blurry and the pain in his chest and gut was slowly slinking away. Dan knew better than to assume that was a good sign. He might be saying hello to Laurie sooner than he thought. "I know."

"Daniel." Nite Owl's name was becoming a mantra. Rorschach grabbed his hands and grunted unintelligibly to himself when the man motioned weakly towards his cowl. Rorschach pulled the goggles and headpiece off gently to release sweat soaked hair around his face and revealing brown eyes. They were slowly graying over and Rorschach bit back whatever it was trying to bubble in his throat. He tried to picture his friend's face smiling over a cup of coffee in a dim kitchen over the bloody and broken thing before him. "Don't."

"Sorry, partner." Dan couldn't see Rorschach any more. The world had faded into some dark blob of moving colors. Dan preferred Rorschach's face to this. Dan's face was wet with something new now. Tears, probably. "Really, really sorry."

"No." Rorschach shook his head. "No, no, no. Nothing to be sorry for. Daniel!" The body beneath him didn't move. There was no air, no breath. Just eyes hanging open, glazed and unseeing. Hands shook in purple leather gloves, shoulders hunching and a hat was ripped from a masked head and slammed into the ground. The hat slowly soaked up the blood from the puddles that had formed around the two of them.

Ozymandias and The Comedian had the tact to turn away when Rorschach's agonizing sob filled the room.

* * *

Rorschach hadn't really cried. It was a wet, heaving noise, but there was no tears. It was still an agonizing beat in his own ears, however. It stank of weakness and failure. Rorschach had moved from the floor into a chair, his trench coat draped delicately over Daniel's body. He sat in his purple pin-striped suit, scarf undone and hanging around his shoulders, body limp. Rorschach bit his lips, made them bleed. His partner was dead. Nite Owl was dead. _Daniel was dead._

And Krueger was next.

The Comedian stared at the hunched form of Rorschach as his hands tensed and relaxed. The man looked like a caged animal not knowing which way to attack. Laurie's death had affected Rorschach the least. Comedian wasn't an idiot. He knew Rorschach didn't like his baby girl. This was different though. Bird-boy was that psychopath's friend. He cared. The Comedian wasn't sure if he wanted to see Rorschach unhinged without his baby-sitter.

Then again, releasing that monster on Krueger might be worth the effort to take the masked man down afterwards.

Adrian had his eyes covered and sucked in a breath. Their line of work was dangerous, to be sure, and the chances of his friends being taken out before their time was always a high possibility. But Dan was, a friend, oddly as it was to admit, and Adrian was feeling more affected than he should. Veidt had no desire to attend yet another funeral so close. And yet, here they were. _Can anything stop this Krueger?_

The phone ringing startled the strangely comfortable silence of the group and Adrian winced as both Rorschach and The Comedian jumped to attention taking the tinny noise as a threat. "I'll, I'll get it." Adrian soothed as he turned around and reached for the conference room phone. His voice cracked only slightly as he answered. "Veidt speaking."

A giddy, rasping voice answered back through the phone. "How did the owl react to the party?"

"Krueger!" Adrian snarled into the receiver. "You bastard!"

"No," Adrian could picture Krueger waggling his finger. "The owl said it was a _hoot!_"

Ozymandias slammed the phone down before ripping it cord and all from the wall. The strength of the toss caused the phone to land on its side in a heap near Rorschach's feet. "He has no shame."

"Could have told you that." Rorschach snorted down disgustingly at the sleek, black phone. "Has no soul."

The phone rang again drawing everyone's attention to the very ripped cord hanging from the back of the phone. The noise seemed to be louder than normal and created a pounding in their skulls. Rorschach reached down slowly and picked up the phone and held it to his ear. A raspy voiced laughed through it once again. "It's not nice to lie." A giggle. "I most definitely have a soul."

"Not for long." Rorschach answered back with a new determination. The still body of his best friend more than enough motivation. Anger forced his words through broken lips. "There won't even be enough left for a mite to claim when I'm done with you."

"I think you just described what I'm going to do to _you._"

Rorschach yelped when the bottom of the phone transformed into a mouth, tongue dripping wet with saliva, and dug the thick organ into his ear through latex. Rorschach tossed the phone as far as the cord would allow and wiped away at the side of his face with a disgust he reserved for the lowest of the low of whores. "Sickening."

"Agreed." Adrian closed his eyes and took a breath. He opened them and could feel the same determination he knew was beating beneath his two companion's chests. "I think it's time we came up with a better plan and show this Krueger just who the hell he's messing with."

"Bout time you really got into the game." Eddy snorted and slapped the uptight prick on the back. "Let's take this bastard down."

"Retribution." Rorschach added with a nod and clenched his fists. He couldn't cry for Daniel until justice was dealt and Krueger suffered a hundred fold more than his friend. "For Miss Jupiter. For Nite Owl, Daniel."

The Comedian laughed and pulled a cigar from his vest, lit it slowly and sucked in a mouthful of smoke. There was a nice ring to the way Rorschach had phrased 'revenge.' It was classy. Perfectly suited for his baby girl. "Retribution. I like it."

Adrian placed a hand on the conference room table and straightened his shoulders. They would _not_ fail again. "Retribution it is."


	9. Chapter 9

This thing needs to end. I want to say I can finish A fic. *groans realizing that she wants to start like five more but hasn't finished any in forever* At least this one is close to being finished even if this chapter is really short. Thanks for reading (despite what I did to Dan – but that just means I don't discriminate! *points to Laurie*) You all are awesome! (And yes – I ended this were I ended it. *evil laughter*)

**Chapter 9**

"_Krueger won't be getting out of this room alive."_

Rorschach felt his breath blow back on his skin, reflected by the fabric in his face. Frozen air rose like smoke through the front in a white crisp breath. Rorschach pulled his blazer collar up around his throat closer to his ascot in an attempt to keep in the warmth. Rorschach missed his trench coat, but refused to move it from Daniel, who was now being kept in a cold storage unit owned by Veidt. If Daniel had been here, though, he'd probably have that stupid white snow suit. Odd looking, but functional. Rorschach frowned again at the thoughts of his friend. Fixed his face with determination remembering the mission to avenge his fallen brother.

The plan hadn't changed; just the location. This time when they dragged Krueger into the real world, he'd find himself face to face with a closed, locked room. A freezer. No windows, no exits. No one to jump into. Vents sealed and door locked; only operable by Veidt. Just a small cold room with two chairs in the middle. They wouldn't make the same mistakes this time. No one would be left behind in the dream world and this room would soon be red from Krueger's insides.

The Comedian and Veidt sat sleeping in the center of the room in said chairs. They twitched slightly once in a while indicating they had found Krueger, but otherwise remained still. Veidt had expressed _concern_ about Rorschach going in so soon and recommended he stay awake this round. Comedian had agreed with his own comment about an emotional Rorschach meant a stupid Rorschach. They didn't trust him to think objectively with his best friend rotting in the other room. Rorschach would have been angry if it hadn't left him opportunity to gather his anger together for the first shot at Krueger.

Rorschach had plans to rip his intestines out through the navel.

There was a slight hiss in the air from the machinery keeping the room at the lowered temperature buzzing in Rorschach's ears. His eyes were red and puffy from the lack of sleep but adrenaline had become a constant friend in his veins. Kept him focused; awake even if he felt dead on his feet. Rorschach pointedly ignored the slight sway in his stance from exhaustion catching up to him through the non-movement. He could stay focused and ready for action.

Or so he thought, anyway. That smell that had started wafting through the room, however, was finally becoming a distraction. The vigilante couldn't tell where or what it was coming from. Rorschach wrinkled his nose under his mask and wondered if it was coming from himself. He usually never noticed anything off, but with such a sterile environment blocking out everything else, Rorschach's unique scent would be more obvious.

The vigilante discreetly leaned his head towards his shoulder wondering if it was from his own suit due to no longer being smothered by a trench coat. Rorschach frowned after a sniff. There was a smell, but the one lingering on his shoulder was the smell of trash, compost. Nothing that wasn't always there due to his unique hiding spot for his clothes. No, the smell in the air was something else. Familiar, but not in the same way as his living conditions. More like something he found on the job. Like the smell of something rotting. Like old blood.

"Hey, Buddy."

Rorschach flinched at the sound of that familiar voice in the room; his breath stopped. It came from behind him. Rorschach refused to turn around. It wasn't real. _It wasn't real._

"Aw, Dan. I don't think he's happy to see you." A lighter voice replied. The sound of fabric shifting was deafening in the now silent room. "I told you he was a jerk. I don't know why you put up with him."

"Aw, don't be like that, Laurie." A dorky laugh he'd heard a million times before. "Rorschach's always had my back."

Rorschach let out a tight, choked sound.

"Usually." Another laugh, shorter this time; laced with disappointment. "He kinda' dropped the ball on this one."

Rorschach wondered if he had finally lost his mind. He was hallucinating. Had to be. But the twisted conversation in his head continued and his feet stayed glued to the ground, refusing to turn and confirm what he was hearing.

"Oh? What'd he do, Dan?"

"He couldn't stop Krueger fast enough. I mean, you died. I died. That little Roche girl died." Rorschach could see the sickly sweet smile of pity in his head without looking. It was a smile Daniel had perfected. "He's kinda' slow for such spritely little guy."

"Oh! I get it." Her laughter shouldn't have sounded so open and happy. Or familiar. Mocking. "He's _slow_ in the head!"

"Laurie!" A friendly scolding. "Be nice."

Rorschach kept his eyes focused on Veidt and Comedian still asleep in the center of the room. They were real. The voices behind him were not. They were fighting Krueger. Rorschach was just tired and hallucinating. Trick of his mind brought from guilt. That was it. Trick of the mind and his dead friend appearing behind him with that whore of a girl. Rorschach twisted his face in disgust. Dan and Laurie together as giggling couple. What a nightmare that would- "I'm asleep."

* * *

"This guy needs a new interior decorator." The Comedian huffed as he and Veidt stomped down metal grate pathways. He wasn't sure how long they'd been looking for Krueger, but Eddie's trigger finger was itching for action. He was half tempted just to waste ammo on the room and have the bullets ricochet off the metal. It was a dream right? Couldn't he just wish up extra ammunition? "It's always this same damn boiler room. I don't get it."

Veidt took in the familiar architecture and refused to admit that he too had been wondering something similar. This room held significance to Krueger in some way. Was it the atmosphere? Or something more? "Perhaps he's a theme villain."

"Ha ha." Eddie snorted. "That sounds more up your alley Mr. Fashionable."

"It is odd we haven't seen him in quite some time yet, though." Adrian muttered to himself ignoring the brutish man's jab. The boiler room was empty save for rusted equipment and the constant sound of steam being released from creaky, equally rusted piping. But it was dulled somehow, giving only a second best effort to be frightening. Like something was missing from it. The sound of the Comedian breathing seemed to beat louder in his ears than the environment. Adrian turned to his companion. "I'd gotten the impression that Krueger enjoyed the attention."

Eddie lifted his cigar from his mouth and blew out a ring of smoke into the air. It combined with the steam into single trail of vapor. "Maybe he's finally running scared? We did get him pretty good last time and let's face it, our little inkblot is pretty pissed off." Eddie shrugged. "I know I sure wouldn't want to run into that little pistol right now."

Adrian put his hands on the nearest railing and stared out into the crowded, yet somehow open and never ending room of rust and steam. His face pensive. "Somehow, I doubt that."

* * *

Rorschach spun around on his heel and stared straight in the face of Fred Krueger. The deranged man was holding up two small hand puppets, children's toys, dressed like the second Silk Spectre and Nite Owl. Silk Spectre's twisted little doll fit snuggly on his hand, but he held the Nite Owl puppet up with his clothes, legless body dangling in the air. Both dolls had large black-thread stitched smiles that took up the entire width of their faces. "Krueger."

"Aw, didn't you like my little performance?" Krueger lifted up the Owl doll. He switched his voice to match the nerd's. "I think I play a pretty good Daniel if I say so myself." Krueger smirked and dropped the fake voice. He got the masked man to twitch; that was enough. "Do you want to play Silkie?"

Rorschach stiffened when Krueger started to make the dolls kiss making disgusting noises with his mouth. The growl lodged in his throat was almost as frightening as those damn dogs.

"Kiss kiss!" Krueger giggled. "That's what you wanted to do righ-"

Rorschach cut Krueger off by way of hand to the throat. He shoved the man into the back of the freezer wall, not noticing the size of the room had shrunk down to the size of a closet, completely focused on strangling this bastard. Kruger kept smiling. "I am going to kill you."

"You can try." Krueger smirked feeling the grip of leather gloves twist around his throat. He lifted the small Nite Owl puppet still on the tip of his claw slowly and held it next to Rorschach's cheek. "But I think it's more likely you just join your little friends."

The little Nite Owl puppet "kissed" him on the cheek and Rorschach saw white.

The enraged yell that ripped from Rorschach's throat was more animal than human. And Krueger loved it. It sounded like agony and pain and every other beautiful noise he'd ever taken from a victim. Angry, agonized souls tasted the best. Time to add the extra bit of spice to make it perfect. The sweet taste of giving up. Total despair.

Krueger kicked Rorschach in the gut hard enough to send him flying into the opposite wall (much closer to his back than he remembered…) with enough force to pushl straight through. Instead of steel, it had been dry wall and there were now small pieces of plaster surrounding him and clinging to his pinstripe suit. When had Krueger moved him? Rorschach sat up from the ground to see a pair of feet before his face. Two pairs of feet. His eyes drifted up to stare through the black and white fabric of his face. "Daniel."

"Don't know why you keep fighting it, Rorschach."

"Yeah ya' stubborn jerk. Just listen to Dan for once in your life and give up already!"

Rorschach growled and backed up as far as he could from the abominations in front of him. Twisted figures of his friend and the whore stared at him in fighting stances. Familiar yet horribly deformed representations of a good man and his friend. Their costumes hung ripped and tattered on their frame. Bloodied with their own blood mixed together with fresh streams pouring from wounds and the old clotted brown chunks of aged liquid clinging to their skin. Maggots dripped from open wounds in their chest and stomach respectively. Nite Owl's cowl was off, revealing sweat drenched hair and red eyes that matched the fake Spectre's. Their faces were sewn into a stretched smile mimicking Glasgow scars to match the puppets.

It made Rorschach want to vomit.


	10. Chapter 10

I will end this thing. I will finish a fiction. XD Though it's looking to be slightly longer than originally planned...but that's good for you all at least. Still really close to that ending though (as you'll notice, I'm sure). So - Thanks for reading and hanging in there!

Note: I'm updating this from a phone so line breaks aren't working. I'll add them later. XD

**Chapter 10**

"Something ain't right." Eddie muttered around his cigar as he wandered the streets of the dreamscape. Adrian was behind him, cape swishing slightly as he walked. "This place is giving me the creeps."

"Considering what you consider to be comfortable I'm not surprised." Adrian sighed as he turned he corner along with his partner of the moment. Working with the Comedian was never a pleasure, but at least it was better than working with Rorschach. Doubly so now that the masked man was an emotional wreck over the loss of their mutual friend Daniel. "If I were you, I'd feel out of place as well."

"Like you don't feel out of place now Mr. Five-Hundred-Dollar suit."

"Fine, suburbia isn't my destination of choice." Arian pursed his lips and crossed his arms behind his back. It wasn't his fault he was wealthy. Adrian had _worked_ for that money. "Sue me."

"If I thought I could beat your fancy lawyers I'd take you up on that."

The two vigilantes walked side-by-side down the bright lit street next to white picket fences and houses painted in pastel colors that would make the easter bunny jealous. The picture-perfect middle class neighborhood that looked untouched by even the lowest denominator of crime. There were even fresh flowers surrounded by brown mulch lining the sides and surrounding each mail-box post and a cheerful bird song in the air.

All in all an odd place for a murderer to hide out.

Eddie blew a smoke ring. "He's messin' with us."

"Brilliant observation."

"Oh, shut-up, Adrian." The Comedian slammed his boot into the nearest fence gate and smashed the thing wide open. Eddie was more than ready for a fight already and the scenery was doing nothing for him. "Let's just start bustin' in and looking for the guy."

"Might as well." Adrian followed through the gate taking in his surroundings as he went. Aside from the total lack of other human beings, the neighborhood truly did look and feel like any other. "I'm half surprised he hasn't paid us a visit already."

"You'll jinx us talking like that." Eddie smirked as he shoved the butt of his gun into the brass doorknob of the house he had wandered up to. The knob came off with an echoing crack and the door swung open slowly and Eddie grinned. "Then again, maybe that's what we want."

Veidt smiled as they wandered inside. Suburbia melted away into a decaying, rotting entrance of hallway foyer. The inside of the home looked like a fire had swept through it and then left to lie open to rot. "It seems we're finally getting somewhere."

"_One, Two, Freddy's coming for you."_

Both men turned quickly to stare back to the front yard beyond the door. Three girls in pristine white dresses stood in the yard with a jump rope. They were singing a rather creepy number song and it was sending chills down Veidt's spine. "Blake."

The door slammed shut locking the two of them in the destroyed house.

The Comedian cocked his rifle. "I think the fun's about to start, Ozy."

"Somehow, I doubt this will be fun." Adrian braced himself for something popping out of any corner. The temperature in the room seemed to drop almost instantly and his breath fogged in front of his face. Kruger didn't appear to be holding back any stops this time around.

The Comedian snorted and took a few steps until his back was flush with Adrian's. Best to cover all the angles and nothing was more fun than a good old fashioned back-to-back brawler. "I think you and me got different definitions of fun."

"You and 'I.'"

Edward Blake paused even while his eyes continued searching the room. "Did you seriously just correct my grammar?"

"Only when it involves me."

"I hate working with you."

"Likewise."

If asked later, both would deny that they pressed flush into each other when the room burst into fire around them.

* * *

Rorschach dodged with a roll to the side when the fake Nite Owl _thing_ lunged at him for the sixth or seventh time. Rorschach was losing his breath from all the fighting. The lowered temperature of the ice box was stealing his breath from him. Plus, for a rotting corpse the fake Nite Owl sure could move quickly. On the other hand, it helped remind Rorschach this monstrosity was not his friend. Daniel was never that swift on his feet. Silk Spectre on the other hand- "Urg!"

Spectre's grin widened so far the stitches in her mouth snapped at the edges. She pulled the knife out of Rorschach's gut with a slick 'shlopp' and spun it once in her hand. "Gotta' move faster than that you little weasel."

"Whore." Rorschach spit out as he held a hand over his wound. He ducked when a couple of arms tried to wrap around his shoulders in a bear hug. He hit the ground with a grunt and wondered where Freddy was hiding. He'd much rather by-pass the imitation dolls and go straight for the gut of the real deal. "Wasting time."

"That what we always were to you, Rorschach?" The Nite Owl Mimic hissed and threw another punch at the limber vigilante. "A waste of your time?"

Rorschach blocked out the voice. No matter how much it sounded like Daniel, it wasn't. It _wasn't. _A fake didn't deserve an answer.

"I mean, that's how you always treated us, right? None of us were good enough for you little mission." The Owl continued. His femme fatale partner circled Rorschach, but kept her distance. She let Daniel take the lead. "Especially after '75, right? You remember that. That was when you stopped fighting crime and started eliminating it."

"You chastised us for being too soft." Fake-Spectre added with a grin and flipped her bloodied hair over her shoulder. "You didn't think we could keep up with you."

"Nothing we did was ever good enough for your new standards. How I handled criminals. What we did with them afterwards. The hours I worked as a vigilante." Nite Owl glared down at Rorschach. "And apparently not even my cooking. You never would even let me heat up your food."

"Lies." Rorschach spoke up quietly. He never thought less of Daniel. "Lies!"

"Are they?" Nite Owl stopped his assault suddenly and stood straight. With a swift pull, he removed his cowl. The stitches and rot fell away to the ground with it and revealed a normal, flushed face framed by brown hair. "What did you really think of me, Rorschach?"

"Daniel." The masked man's throat closed up as he looked at familiar brown eyes. Krueger could conjure up a convincing fake. That was all. "You're not him. I don't think anything of _you._"

"I'm not the real deal?" Daniel smiled softly and took a few striding steps forward until his face was a hair's breath from the swirling black and white ink of his friend's mask. "You sure about that, Buddy?"

Rorschach braced when Silk Spectre wrapped herself around Nite Owl's back. She was too close and Rorschach couldn't trust either of them. The fake Laurie rubbed her face in Nite Owl's side and rubbed off the rot. It revealed the same painted face he was greeted every time the harlot showed up at the group meetings. However, his attention was soon drawn back to the man standing before him. It was a fake. It was a fake. _It was a fake._

"The world's a funny place, Rorschach." Dan started and pushed a hand up to rub at the dual-toned fabric of Rorschach's 'face.' "A few years ago, if you would have told me my soul would be stolen by some freak with his face burnt off, I would have laughed and called you crazy." He dropped his hand lower and shoved Rorschach in the shoulder. "And yet here we are, right, Buddy?"

"No." Rorschach slowly shook his head. That wasn't possible. Daniel was dead. His soul wasn't trapped. Didn't belong to that monster. "Lies."

"You remember, Twilight Lady, Rorschach?" Dan grinned this time and pat Silk Spectre's arm as she leant up into his body. He was so cold. She was warm; it probably felt the same to her. "You tried to kill her, and I knocked you off a roof so she could get away. You wouldn't talk to me for a week."

Rorschach froze and looked the smirking man in the eye. It was hard to breathe. "You."

"Yeah. I promised I wouldn't tell anyone that's what happened. Your partner picking a criminal over you? Yeah. Bad for your reputation. Hell, it was bad for mine all things considered." Dan leant back when Laurie's arms tightened around him. "No one knew that but you and me, bud_dy._"

"Dan...iel." Sick started to rise in Rorschach's throat and he started to back away from the image before him. Couldn't be Daniel. "No, no, no, no."

"Yes." Daniel's face split into a grin, revealing tiny little tears where stitching had been. They were slick and white like scars. "Yes, yes, yes." Nite Owl started to run forward to tackle his friend. "You condemned us to this! It's all your fault!"

Rorschach couldn't bring himself to block the tackle and he hit the ground with a thud. Hands were wrapping around his throat and Rorschach wondered where this solid brute strength came from. It was unearthly and the man couldn't move; could only claw at the arms that belonged to a man that could very well be his friend. "Daniel."

"And soon, you're going to be suffering with us." Dan smirked and leant down into Rorschach's face. "Just not right now."

The fake (real?) Daniel smashed his gauntlet covered fist into Rorschach's gut and the man lurched forward and over. Rorschach scrambled to shove himself up onto his feet and stared around the empty freezer room. His hand felt the place where he had been punched and could feel the bruise developing. But, why had he woken up? What was the point? Rorschach looked over to the chairs Veidt and the Comedian had been sitting in and cursed.

* * *

"I really, hate working with you, Blake!" Veidt shouted as he fought off the flames. He was still reeling with the logic that a room could be cold enough for his breath to fog and yet still manage to be surrounded by fire that was definitely hot to the touch. Two extremes in the same place. "Figure out how to get rid of this fire!"

"Aren't you the smart one!" Eddie snarled back as he searched for an opening to escape the flames. They were pretty surrounded on all sides and while it didn't appear to be crossing some invisible circle around him and Ozymandias, the fact remained they were pretty stuck where they were. "You figure it out!"

"I've been trying!" Adrian huffed. "I don't know if you realized this or not." Ozymandias spun to the other side of The Comedian when a flame licked towards him. They were now standing chest to chest. "But this dream world doesn't particularly follow logic." He dodged left as the flames continued to dance around them. "And the illogical is more your area of expertise than mine!"

"Blah, blah, blah." Eddie rolled his eyes and hunched over Adrian when a beam fell from the ceiling and smacked into the armor on his back. He grunted, but was otherwise okay. Adrian merely glared at him as thanks for preventing his tiny body from being crushed. "That's all I'm hearing."

"Yes, well." Veidt looked up to the ceiling where the beam had fallen. Smoke lingered and covered the ceiling but now there was a hole. The smoke filtered into it and went up to the second floor. Smoke was the lesser of the two evils momentarily. Veidt could hold his breath and with as many cigars the Comedian smoked, he doubted the man had even noticed the air was full of the stuff. "We'll have to go up."

"Up?" The Comedian followed Veidt's eye-line and hummed. It was an opening and it was better than getting turned into the next fried special. "How are we going to get up there?"

"Give me a boost and I'll reach down for you."

"Think you can lift me, twinkle toes?"

"Just boost me up already!" Adrian threw his hands on the Comedian's shoulder and vaulted himself up. Taking the hint, Blake cupped his hands and created a foot hold for Veidt to jump up into the open space. An easy lift later and Veidt sat comfortably on the second floor, surrounded by smoke, but at least all that was up here was the lowered temperature. He leant over the hole and shoved an arm down. "Give me your hand!"

"Don't have to tell me twice!" Eddie leapt up and grabbed the arm and felt himself be lifted. He got as far as the ceiling before using his own weight to pull himself up. "Well I'll be damned. You could lift me."

"Oh shut up." Adrian brushed off his arms. The Comedian acted like Ozymandias didn't work out. Being a gymnast required a lot of muscle strength dammit! "Come on, let's jump out a window and get back into the open."

"On it."

Not two steps later, the floor beneath them opened up and swallowed them both, dumping them into the flames that now covered the entire floor.

* * *

The Comedian and Veidt were on fire.

Rorschach immediately turned both chairs on their sides in an attempt to wake them both up from the jolt. They merely kept screaming and writhing on the ground as the flames ate away at their clothes and skin. Burnt flesh filled the room and penetrated past Rorschach's mask. He went to the Comedian first and pat at the flames and tried to roll the man to put the fire out. It didn't seem to work. With a grunt he tried kicking the man in the head. "Wake-up!"

When that failed, he turned to Veidt and repeated the process. Rolling the man, patting at the flames, throwing frost from the ground of the freezer onto the flames all were futile. Only their screams continued on into the air. And Rorschach jumped up and searched the room desperately for something to wake the two of the men up or to put out the fire.

Nothing.

The room was empty save for the two chairs. What had at first been a precaution to prevent Krueger from having any advantages was now a disadvantage. Rorschach snarled when he noticed those two had now caught fire and were burning steadily in the corner filling the locked room with smoke. Rorschach knew how fire could eat away at everything in its path. He'd used it before to bring justice to sick men who played and violated small girls. He couldn't stop it and eventually Rorschach stilled.

The bodies had already stopped moving, and the fire slowly dissipated as it lost the fuel necessary to keep burning. Dried, stiff corpses laid where were once two fellow vigilantes. One Hero and one man of questionable motives. Rorschach gripped his fists tightly and breathed in the smell of burn flesh and smoke. So many smells over the past few days. Each more rank than the last.

Krueger had picked them all off one by one starting with Ms. Jupiter and ending with the Comedian and Ozymandias. He had even taken Nite Owl, Daniel. This monster had long past the point of being unforgivable. And now Rorschach had absolutely nothing to lose. Krueger's next fight would be with the cornered dog who had been beaten and starved now clinging to its last bit of life.

Rorschach was alone.


End file.
